


Mollify

by Generouslyinnercheesecake



Series: Earth Destiny [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Bruce Wayne Being Bruce Wayne, F/M, Gangs, Golden Dragons (Gang), Humor, Kinda, Romance, Slight Violence, Slow Build, Stephanie Brown is Spoiler, Tim Drake is Robin, Tim is just Tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 15:26:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19771087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Generouslyinnercheesecake/pseuds/Generouslyinnercheesecake
Summary: Stephanie Brown gets tangled in an investigation of a gang in Chinatown, so when Tim Drake gets involved (and has history with the gang leader), she is determined to take the Golden Dragons down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: All public characters, settings, etc. are not mine and are property of DC comics. I am not making money off of this work. All my original characters/plot are property of me, the author, and I am not associated with DC comics in any way, shape or form.
> 
> Hello, everyone! I’m from FanFiction.net, incase ya didn’t know, and I’m just posting my already-done work in order for people from both platforms to read them. I just finished this story, and started another story I’ll be posting soon.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story and have an amazing day!

The air was hazed, as usual, in the crime-ridden city. As the woman looked upon the disgusting city, she took note of a purple and blonde speck in the distance. Ling glared at the small speck.

After many moments of glaring at the hero, she looked down onto the residents of her town. Chinatown was primarily Asian, as shown by the name, but was not too different from the rest of Gotham as it was, too, crime-ridden. King Snake made this town almost worse than Gotham, and Ling planned on fixing the man's dishonorable actions.

Ling looked back up to see the blonde woman running and jumping on rooftops.

Then scowled.

* * *

Spoiler laughed as she jumped from the bank rooftop onto the rooftops of some apartments. It had been a good night. She stopped more than plenty of muggers and robbers without the interference of a certain bird who always seemed to make an appearance around midnight.

Suddenly the young woman heard a distinct scream, then jumped into immediate action. As she grappled down to the ground, she took note of the mugger, a teenaged-white boy with a gun, and the mugged, a Latino middle-aged man with a satchel in his shaking left hand. The Latino man proceeded to give the boy his satchel with trembling hands while Steph began to creep behind the mugger.

Just after the Latino man gave the mugger his bag, Steph reached for the end of the gun that was then pointing at the mugged. The man attempted to fire while Steph had covered the end of the Glock, but was fortunately stopped by the blonde heroine. Spoiler used her left palm of her hand to slam it into the teenager's right temple, then twisted the boy's right hand to force him to drop his gun. Using kinetic energy, Spoiler used her left leg to swing back then hit the boy straight in his stomach with her knee, knocking the air out of him.

As the teenager took a desperate gulp of air and crumpled to the ground, he let go of the other man's satchel. Steph roughly placed her left leg on the place between the boy's legs and bent down to pick up the stolen satchel. She let out her right hand to the shaken Latino man, then smiled at him, "Here you go!"

He stared at her hand for a few moments, which made her smile slip slightly. "I kinda have other things to do, man..."

The man blinked for the first time in that few moments, then gave a small smirk. "Thanks." He looked her up and down, which made the grin be wiped completely from her bright face, then snatched his satchel. "Spoiler, right?" He interrupted her before she could even reply. "Nice costume. Come here often? Well..."

She mumbled angrily to herself as she left the man, who continued on flirting to thin air. "...stupid purse..." Her agitated attitude continued on when she left for the rooftop of the school and encountered the same bird she was relieved about not seeing this whole night.

"Robin." She greeted the man.

He nodded and gave a curt reply, "Spoiler."

She was taken aback for a moment, then scrunched up her nose cutely. "What's up?" She crossed her arms over her bust.

"Why didn't you yell at that man down there?"

_Ah_ , Steph thought to herself, _there is his bluntness_. "Why is it any of your business?" She asked with so much sass that Alfred would be impressed. "Plus, if it was any of your business..." she paused to think and look directly at Tim, "which it isn't," he scowled,"then why does it matter? Why should I care about what an asshole thinks of me?"

Robin lifted his head higher and asked with a curious tone. "Do you care about my opinion?" She smirked at him.

"That depends on the moment. Who are you right now?" Her smirk slowly turned into a wide grin as she saw his emotions shift ever-so-slightly in his true Tim fashion. He was quiet for a moment, thinking over what to say next. Before he could make a snark reply, though, Steph made one first. "I guess that answers my question," she paused for dramatic effect, "Al."

He opened his mouth, but closed it again after he realized she was simply teasing him. His surprised look morphed into a small smile. Steph's grin widened even more. Suddenly they both heard a small **_beep_** coming from Robin's comm. Said hero reached up to his left ear and Steph heard a click from the comm, conveying that the man answered to his mentor. "...On my way. Robin out."

Spoiler huffed. _Of course he has to leave right when we just started_. When the call with Batman ended, Tim looked back up at Steph with a sorry look. She bit her lip, slightly angry. "Go save some damsels, Robin." He didn't move. "Go. Do as Daddy says." Steph kissed her teeth frustratedly, then saw him move.

He turned around, then turned again to face Spoiler. "Bye." His stiffness of the statement didn't surprise Steph in the slightest.

* * *

Later that night, when Steph returned to her and her mother's apartment, she quickly took off her dirty costume and took a short shower. After doing so, Steph went to her kitchen to get a snack to hold her off until the morning. She hadn't eaten dinner.

Steph stepped into the kitchen quietly, as to make sure that she didn't wake up her sleeping mother. After grabbing a couple granola bars, she tip-toed back into her room. As soon as she finished her snacks, she flopped onto her bed and was immediately immersed in dreams of unicorns, waffles, and a reciprocating Robin.

* * *

Steph awoke to the sound of something crashing in the kitchen, which instantly made her jump out of bed and run into the kitchen with a taser. However, the crashing was, from what Steph assessed, a crash of a pan hitting the floor.

The taser still in her hand, Steph asked her mother what she was doing. "What's going on, Mom?"

Her mom looked a little spaced out for a moment, but replied with a growing smile. "Sorry if I startled you, Hun. I wanted to make some eggs."

Crystal Brown had bright green eyes along with brown hair, also featuring a forgiving yet blunt personality. Steph smiled at her mother's shown effort to start to repair their relationship. "Well, then." Stephanie put the taser on the table then picked up her mother's mess and proceeded to give it to said mother. "Do you want any help?" Steph asked her mother this with some sweetness laced in her voice.

"Oh, no, Honey. It's okay. Want some frozen waffles too?" Steph's eyes lit up at the mention of her favorite food, then she nodded enthusiastically. Her mother chuckled, "Well then...go get the paper downstairs, Hun." Steph fled for the paper.

Steph rushed down the stairs similar to how a child would rush down to the ice cream cart. It had been weeks since her mother heated up some waffles for her and it felt good...as though she was wanted again.

Steph began to form a familiar grin on her face as she thought about her mother making an effort (again) to get along with her daughter and be an actual mother. The young woman reached her parcel locker and took out the mail. _Bill, Bill, Letter, Newspaper, Bill..._ Steph skimmed her own mail she had to open, then bolted back upstairs to the fifth floor.

The blonde woman swung the door open when she reached her apartment, almost making her mother drop her now-heated waffles. Steph stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, then apologized..."Sorry, Mom." Her mother simply gave her daughter a fond yet impatient look, then put the waffles on a plate.

"Here's your food, Stephanie." Steph stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "There's syrup in the fridge, Hun." Steph relaxed her tongue. The young woman placed the mail on the counter near the stove in two piles; one for her, the other for her mother. After that, practically pranced to the fridge to get some syrup, a smile evident on her bright face.

She took out the sugary sweetness then moved over to get her plate. Her smile widened when she picked it up and smelt the heated breakfast. "Thank you so much, Mom!" Her tone and inflection made her mother smile.

Steph sat down at the table, then drenched the waffles in syrup, coating some eggs in the sugary substance as well. She grinned wider, then took a large bite of her waffles, instantly melting at the taste. Her mother, after a couple minutes, joined her in breakfast. They began to converse lightly, only talking about their nights. Steph's mother assumes her daughter has quit being a heroine, and is told that Steph now volunteers at a homeless shelter late at night. Stephanie hated lying to her mother, but she felt she had to; it was a part of being a hero.

After a few moments of silence, Crystal got up to get her regular newspaper. She returned to the table with concentrated look etched upon her face, clearly reading the news. After skimming the rest of the newspaper for a few more seconds, she simply shook her head and huffed to herself. Steph noticed this and decided to question her mother. "What's wrong?"

Her mother ate another piece of her waffle, then replied. "Some gang in Chinatown is apparently on the loose again."

At this, Steph narrowed her eyes. "Can I see that?" Crystal gave her daughter an impatient look. Steph corrected herself. "Please..." Her mother's look dropped and she handed the paper over to her daughter.

Steph hurriedly opened the paper to find a short article on the Chinatown gang, the Golden Dragons, on page five below the obituaries. It read:

_In other news, it seems as though the Chinatown gang, the "Golden Dragons", have found their footing again. The previous leader, who labeled himself "King Snake", is still in prison, however. It has not been reported on whom this new leader is, but we can only hope that either the GCPD or local Bat can take them down._

_If you have any information regarding..._

Stephanie stopped reading, as she had read enough. She dropped the paper on the table, her appetite suddenly spoiled (no pun intended). The 17-year-old girl looked up at her mother, who was not paying attention to her daughter but at the food on her plate.

_I have to look into this. Tonight_. Steph thought to herself as she threw out the rest of her meal. Her mother noticed this peculiar behavior, though, before Steph could go and change into her civvies. Her left brow raised, hands flat on the table, Crystal interrogated her daughter. "Stephanie, what's wrong? Were your eggs undercooked or something?" Steph relaxed her tongue.

"No, they were good, Mom." Steph took a deep breath, then conveyed a tired grin. "I'm just tired, so I'm gonna go take a nap. Unless you want me to help wash the dishes?" Steph placed her dirty plate in the sink. Her mother sighed tiredly.

"Just wash your own dishes, Steph. I guess I'll take an early nap too. It was a really late night at the hospital yesterday." Steph nodded, then cleaned her plate.

"Sorry, Mom. I guess I'll leave you alone." Stephanie said all of this with a forced smile. Crystal simply nodded at her daughter, then got up to place her dirty plate in the sink and left for her room.

After making sure that her mother was out of hearing distance, Steph took the newspaper from the table, then left for her own room to change into her regular clothes.

_Time to investigate Chinatown_.


	2. Chapter 2

Opening another tab, Tim sighed to himself. Though the amount of information they had on Ling was limited, he was still able to find some on the investigation. From his personal experiences he knew all he could about the villain, but he couldn't tell that to Stephanie.

Tim had been researching for about three hours now, which, sadly, wasn't too unusual for him. He reached for another drink of his precious caffeine when he heard a blatantly loud clearing of a throat behind him. Tim looked up from the cave's computer, about to ask Alfred how much time had passed, when he heard a familiar female voice.

"What do you know about the 'Golden Dragons'?"

Tim closed his bloodshot eyes for a moment, then turned around to face the blonde.

* * *

Steph's sneakers scraped on the sidewalk as she quickly walked over to the local bus stop. "Wait!" The bus driver that was turning to leave jerked to a stop when he heard a familiar cry. The bus driver, Adam, rolled his eyes fondly when he recognized the call as Stephanie's. Said young woman frantically ran onto the bus with a sorry look etched on her face.

"Super sorry, Adam!" The 20-year-old man just smiled. "I left my apartment late and my mom was taking forever to-"

He interrupted her, "Take a seat, Steph." She stopped, then gave a flustered smile to the bus driver. When she turned her body to the rows behind the drivers, she heard a quiet gasp.

"Right..." She stepped over to the second row take a seat.

Before Steph could take a seat, however, she heard a small voice behind her seat. Steph's head jerked up and she smiled a bit. The woman got up from her seat and turned her body to face the voice behind her.

"Hello, miss!" Steph tilted her head to the side when she heard the voice; she didn't notice anyone in the seat behind her own until she tilted her head down to see a dark-skinned girl whom looked to be about 7 years old.

"Hello!" Steph replied with the same vigor that the girl greeted her with.

"Well, miss, sorry to interrupt you, but I wanted to ask a question." The young lady looked around to make sure no one was listening, even though the bus was practically empty.

"Go ahead." Steph raised her eyebrows animatedly.

The girl looked around again, and her inflection changed to a whisper. "Well, I wanted to ask if you're a...superhero." Steph's eyebrows dropped in a slight panic, but then she remembered that this was a child and shifted her surprised expression back to a friendly one. "The other night a superhero Spoiler saved me from a bad guy who wanted to hurt me..."

Steph nodded, the memory of saving a young girl from being raped by an older man coming up. Although the young woman felt bad for the situation, she didn't let that change her attitude. "Really? She sounds super cool."

The animated grin on Steph's face made the girl feel comfortable, so she spoke up again. "I just wanted to say thank you to miss Spoiler."

Steph's animated expression changed to a fond and thankful one, then she replied with a light voice, "Well," Steph looked around in a child-like manner, a mischievous smile coming up on her bright face. "You're right." The girl's eyes widened and Stephanie continued, "I'm a superhero." Steph knew if this girl was smart enough to figure out her favorite superhero's identity, she would also be smart enough to not tell anyone if gently told.

The girl's smile almost blinded Steph. "You are?" Steph simply nodded. "You're Spoiler?" Stephanie nodded again. Whispering forgotten, the girl excitedly continued, "Thank you so much, miss!"

Steph's wide grin returned. "You're very welcome..." Steph waited for the girl to introduce herself.

"Zendaya, miss. But you can call me Zay!" Zay's enthusiasm made Steph smile wider.

"Hello, Zay." Stephanie shot out her right hand for the young lady to shake. After they shook hands, Stephanie introduced herself. "My name's Steph."

"Nice to meet you, miss Steph!" The young woman was slightly impressed by the girl's manners. That was rare to find in Gotham.

"Nice to meet you too, Zay." Steph chuckled at the giddy look on the girl's face. Steph's grin slipped and she began to whisper again, "I also must remind you, Zay, that you can't go telling everyone I'm a superhero." Zay's expression became serious, imitading the older woman's expression.

"I promise I won't tell anyone, miss Steph!" The girl lifted her right pinky. "Pinky promise."

Zay's confident tone made Steph relieved, so she let out her right pinky and they made the promise. "Pinky promise."

After a few seconds, Steph looked up to see familiar streets that came right before her stop. "I'm sorry, Zay, but I have to get going." Zendaya's face fell, a small pout beginning to form. "But I think that we're going to meet again in the future." The look in Steph's eyes and grin assured Zay that they would most definitely meet again, so the girl's smile returned.

Steph began to get up, so Zay animatedly said a goodbye. "Bye, miss Steph!"

"Goodbye, Zay!" Stephanie got up and swiftly walked down to the driver's exit, quickly thanking the driver as he stopped the bus, "Thanks, Adam!"

He smiled. "No problem, Steph." He waved at her with a couple fingers that were resting on the steering wheel.

As Steph walked off the bus, she grinned to herself. _What a polite girl..._

With a backpack on her back and a thoughtful yet light look etched on her face, she began to walk to the richer neighborhoods. As she passed by lavish mansions and manors, she took note of the addresses to make sure she wasn't skipping the Wayne's. Steph scowled when she remembered the absolute train wreck of Bruce Wayne.

He had treated her horribly.

When she finally recognized the proper address on an expensive-looking manor after few minutes, she stopped walking and faced the property. Letting the backpack fall from her shoulders, she shifted her bag to be held by her left hand, then leapt up to climb the slightly rusted fence.

When she finally made it over the fence, she scrunched up her brows and shifted the backpack on her shoulders again. _Why_ _don't_ _I_ _hear_ _the_ _alarm_ _going_ _off?_ She relaxed her face when she remembered that Alfred probably already knew she was here. She chuckled to herself. _Funny old man..._

Before she could even knock, the door widened to reveal the butler wearing a neutral look on his face. "Miss Stephanie. I presume you are here for Master Tim?" His neutral look shifted to a teasing one, his head slightly tipped to the right.

She smiled widely. "Yeah. I need to see him for some help on homework." Her lie made Alfred's eyes narrow since he instantly recognized the familiar fib.

Her smile faltered a little when she saw the glare.

"I was not aware that you are in summer school, Miss Stephanie." His comment almost made Steph completely lose her grin.

"Uh...yeah..." Alfred still looked unimpressed. "It's been hard and I know Tim is like, suuuuppeerrr-"

"You know the password to the cave, Miss Stephanie, correct?" She stopped talking, stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, and quickly nodded with wide eyes, facade broken. "Good." He opened the door wider for her. "Off you go now. "

Her genuine grin back, Steph jogged over to the clock in the main study, then put the correct time in.

_10:47._

* * *

Tim looked at Steph with some question in his eyes. "Why do you want to know about the Golden Dragons?"

Steph sighed. _He always does this when I ask him questions._ She reluctantly began to explain herself. "Well,” she licked her lips, "I saw a short description of them in the paper. They were under the obituaries. And apparently they're back. In my territory."

Tim paused. "Who said that Chinatown was _your_ territory?"

She stopped and gave him a glare that could kill. " _I_ said so." Steph pouted as she crossed her arms and stuck up her nose cutely, making a 'humph' noise.

Tim raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to make an argument, but backed down as he knew that it would only make things worse. He may be stubborn but he was smart enough to know when to stop. "O-kay."

She looked satisfied with herself for a moment, then stopped. "Wait." He pursed his lips. "You've changed the subject." Tim simply blinked at her and raised both of his eyebrows. "What do you know about the Golden Dragons?" He dropped his eyebrows.

Then sighed.

So he began to explain. "The Golden Dragons are a gang in Chinatown. Through some research I've concluded that the gang is now being controlled by a villain named Lynx. I've, " he paused to think, "fought her before. She primarily uses swords and knives as weapons, but she's not afraid to use whatever's in her sight. She's been trained as an assassin." The look on his face displayed little emotion, since he knew if he was vulnerable in front of her he would reveal too much.

Stephanie nodded and a concentrated look appeared on her face. Tim continued, "Described as Chinese with black hair and light brown eyes. She usually wears a cat-like helmet and a red and blue costume." He stopped to let her absorb this information. "I also think she knows Cass..."

Stephanie stopped concentrating and looked up at Tim again. "What do you mean? Why would she know Cass?" The 17-year old-looked confused and worried.

Tim sighed again. "Well...I suspect she knows of all of our identities." Steph's eyebrows scrunched together in more confusion. "She's too smart to not know. I mean from my...observations it seems as if she has an IQ almost equal to mine." The young woman was even more confused. _Why is he acting like that? "_ And it seems that Batgirl and Lynx fight often. And they both have the same fighting style, so I wouldn't be surprised if they've clashed a few times. When I mentioned Ling to Cass, she didn't really say anything, but she did seem kinda irked. I think they have some history-"

His lengthy explanation was interrupted by an abashed Stephanie. "Ling?"

Tim paused awkwardly for a full minute, opening his mouth multiple times but failing to say anything. "That's Lynx."

Her head tilted and eyes widened. "Oh." She continued after a moment of silence, “Do you know her personally then?" Her tone was almost accusing and made Tim feel uneasy.

Tim placed his bottom lip in between his teeth. "Uh...yeah."

She stopped and her expression shifted to a demanding one. "Where does she live?"

Tim pursed his lips then removed all emotion from his face. "That's private information."

The young woman's eyes narrowed greatly, and a small pout began to form on her bottom lip again. Then she tightened her lip and lifted her head up high. "Fine,” she stated defiantly, "I'll find out that 'private information' by myself." She gestured wildly.

Although the young man looked somewhat surprised, he secretly knew she would say something similar to that. Tim looked at Steph with a blank.

"Bruce is going to be pissed." Tim immediately regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth; and it showed on his face.

"Well, then. Let him be." Her head up high, she began to leave the room with an angry aura. "Thanks." Tim pursed his lips again, cursing his own mind. "Bye."

* * *

Now in Chinatown, Stephanie walked down the sidewalk of 23rd with her head down. Even in civvies, Steph was a sore thumb when compared to other walkers - who were, of course, mostly Asian.

The young woman observed her surroundings, taking note of the hurrying citizens and rundown restaurants. A woman with abnormally blonde hair was walking down the street, holding her purse so tight her knuckles were white. A man with a long beard was jogging in a track suit, but the most unusual part of his outfit was the gun holster lying on his left hip. After a few more minutes of walking and observing, she stepped onto Hamilton Avenue by taking a right. However, when she saw the young man she was trying to avoid, she jerked to a stop. Her eyes narrowed for the second time that day, then she walked over to Alvin, who was furiously typing on his phone.

He stopped typing when he heard her steps, but still looked down at his phone in slight shame. Tim did look up, however, when he heard Steph's throat clear loudly. He gave a nervous smile.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Steph looked annoyed.

Alvin gulped loudly, then used some of his superhero courage. "This is public territory..."

He swore he saw her eye twitch.

"I told you this was my territory!" She whisper-shouted. Steph looked around to make sure no one was listening, then Tim noticed a Chinese woman dressed in a cat-like costume on the rooftop of a local restaurant. "Did Bruce send you or somethin'?"

"No, Bruce didn't send me." In his usual Alvin manner, he affirmed all of this with a blank face as to not reveal anything. "I came to make sure you didn't get into danger."

Stephanie's ears began to turn red. "Why would I be in danger?" Tim shifted his eyes to the Asian woman again, and he began to secretly take notes on his phone. "Are you only doing this because I'm a girl?!"

Tim jerked his head to look at Stephanie, surprised at her accusation. "No, of course not! It's just that-"

Steph interrupted him angrily, so Tim, annoyed, shifted his attention back to the cause of his interest. "Cause I thought we established that this is my part of-" She was interrupted by Tim's never-ending interest with something behind her. She scrunched up her eyebrows and turned to look at the object of his curiosity. "What the he-"

Steph stopped when she turned and saw his new interest. It was a woman of Asian descent with black hair wearing a blue and red cat suit. Just what Tim said Lynx looks like. Her tone changed to a curious one, "is that Lynx-"

Her sentence was stopped when she heard a zipper being opened. Steph turned around to see Tim furiously taking off his jacket. Her eyes widened and her heart began to beat faster, but then she remembered that he probably has his costume on under his civvies. _Stupid over-prepared bats._

She then looked down at herself and sighed. Fortunately, she wore her Spoiler costume under her civvies before she left the apartment this suspected something of this sort would happen. _Now I'm an over-prepared bat. Dandy._ She thought to herself sarcastically. When she looked back up after she finished changing, she saw Robin ready to fight.

Steph quickly looked up at the sky, which was thankfully turning dark. "Ready?" Robin asked his peer.

Spoiler looked down from the sky, faced him, and nodded determinedly.


	3. Chapter 3

Spoiler huffed as she ran along beside Robin, who was sprinting towards the rooftop Lynx was previously occupied on. Spoiler suspected (from what Tim told her) that Lynx was the type of villain to lure their prey into fighting with her. Spoiler scowled when she was reminded of the fact that Tim only told her of these things due to his 'emotional connection' with Lynx.

In her thoughts, she almost forgot to jump from one rooftop to another and barely avoided falling into a dirty alley. Robin slowed down slightly, then decided to address her, "Keep up, Spoiler."

Spoiler chuckled heavily. "Only if you can, bird." She loved this. The teasing and talking with Tim. It was so exhilarating and only added to the adrenaline of crime-fighting. If only it wasn't slightly disturbed by the thoughts of Lynx on Steph's mind.

By the time they arrived to the same rooftop Lynx was on, she was panting heavily yet smiling. They both routinely shifted toward the middle of the rooftop to avoid being caught off guard. The last thing they wanted for one another is to be hurt.

With one leaning on the other's back, they got into a fighting stance, also inspecting the area to find the villain of their thoughts. Their searching was interrupted when they heard a screeching of a sword dragging on concrete. Both Spoiler and Robin grimaced at the sound, but their fighting stances did not waver.

The invasive sound continued until they saw a muscular, slim figure on the rooftop next to theirs. "I'll go." Spoiler decided to volunteer herself, but Robin was simply not having it.

"I'll go. You don't know her fighting style like I do." Steph took a deep breath, urging herself not to lash out on him.

"But I wanna go," she said through gritted teeth. Robin simply huffed and began to run. He knew that someway somehow she was going to follow him, so there was no actual point in denying her anything.

As Spoiler skillfully jumped over to the other rooftop that Lynx stood on, she saw in the corner of her eye that Robin ran over to the fire escape to go to ground level. She almost laughed at his creativity.

When she reached the occupied rooftop, Spoiler looked around to find the other woman. With her guard loosely up, she saw a shadow with smoke surrounding it. I thought only bats did dramatic entrances. She laughed bitterly to herself.

The smoke eventually cleared after a few seconds, and there stood a lean woman with a long sword and a cat-like helmet. Spoiler looked around to search for a sneaking bird, but found nothing and began to twitch nervously. Lynx looked absolutely ruthless with her sharp features, glaring demeanor, and managed weapons.

Seemingly out of the blue, Lynx began to run towards Spoiler with the sharp sword in her right hand. Spoiler swore she heard the villain growl, so her fighting stance shifted to a defensive one. Lynx lifted up her sword above her head and, with both hands on the handle, threw the sword down with the purpose to slice the other woman. Thankfully, Spoiler did a side somersault to her right and quickly got up to a standing position, her defensive stance up again.

Lynx didn't even glance at the heroine when she shifted her upper body to her left and quickly pulled back her arm to direct her sword down to Spoiler. The blonde woman grunted as she used her forearm to block the sharp sword, forming a deep gash that gushed blood. Spoiler hissed tightly, her lip finding its place under her teeth.

"Al!" Stephanie called desperately for her good friend, her pleading tone making Lynx's lip twitch with victory. The Asian woman swiftly placed her sword back in its sheath on her hip, then swung her fist to her right where Steph weakly stood.

Spoiler (now back in crime-mode) ducked from the punch, then began to bounce backwards near the edge of the rooftop. Her defense still up, she called out for Tim again. Although Steph was stubborn and often stood her fights, she knew this would be end up badly if she did so. Steph's brow moistened from sweat, so she took a deep breath and attempted to forget about her throbbing arm. She moved her body back to a fighting stance.

This did not sway Lynx's attitude, however, and they continued throwing punches and blocks. Robin's lithe body seemed to appear out of nowhere after a few minutes of fighting passed. Spoiler smirked tiredly, her body aching for rest.

"Took you long enough," the blonde woman murmured to herself, irked. With Spoiler and Robin surrounding both sides of Lynx, all three began to urgently fight. Robin uppercut Lynx, who avoided it by twisting to her right, all while Spoiler kicked the other woman's knees, making them collapse.

Lynx grabbed for Tim's arms, which made them painfully twist inward. Robin growled and pulled them towards his own body, making Lynx let go. The woman huffed angrily, "It seems you have not changed, Tim."

Steph sucked some air up and scrunched up her nose, then reached for the assassin's inky hair under the helmet and tugged painfully, also temporarily forgetting about her own pain. Lynx visibly grit her teeth then used her right elbow to jab into Spoiler's gut. Spoiler, however, refused to let go, and instead used both her hands to hold onto the ends of Lynx's hair.

This is one of those times when a good-old-fashioned school fight technique worked out.

Robin swiftly took out a pair of handcuffs from his utility belt and walked back into the fight. He roughly used the heel of his foot to smash into Lynx's toes, so she let her knees bend reflexively. And within a few seconds, Tim managed to grab the vile woman's wrists and slap handcuffs onto them.

Although Steph noticed that Tim put the handcuffs on, she continued pulling onto the other woman's hair. Robin snorted to himself for a moment, then amusedly reminded Steph, "She's cuffed, Spoiler, and the police are coming. It's not necessary to continue."

Steph froze, blinked, huffed, then let go of the hair. Spoiler looked at the other woman that looked absolutely beaten, then burst out into laughter at her own actions. Robin simply joined in by chuckling privately, meanwhile Steph was having a ball, snorts often heard by the other people on the rooftop.

Lynx glared disgustedly at Spoiler, "I will not stop until I have destroyed you and claim this town as my own." It was one of the first times that Stephanie actually listened to the villain's voice, and the heavy accent surprised her for some reason.

Her snorting now ceased, Spoiler glared at Lynx angrily again. The sounds of the police arriving broke Stephanie out of her glare, who was then reminded of the painful, throbbing cut on her left forearm. Robin nodded at Spoiler, getting her attention, then motioned to the alleyway near the back of the building where the cops wouldn't be able to see them. Tim awkwardly cleared his throat, walked over to Lynx, then took her sheath that was holding her sharp sword. Robin attached it to his hip and began walking to the nearest fire escape.

Steph sighed, glared at Lynx once again, then began to follow Robin.

By the time they both reached the alleyway in the back of the building, the police were running up to the rooftop to catch Lynx. Steph sighed loudly, getting Tim's attention which was previously fixated on the sheath.

"This thing doesn't wanna stay in one place..." Tim muttered to himself annoyedly, going back to fidgeting with the sword.

Steph pursed her lips and blinked slowly, exhaustion catching up on her.

* * *

They both walked back to the original alleyway where they left their civvies. That is, after wrapping up Steph's arm. It took a few minutes for Spoiler to get back into action as her adrenaline was down again, but they made it after less than an hour. After respectively grabbing their clothes, Tim reached for his phone. "You better not be calling him," Steph asserted.

Tim didn't stutter his motions, though, which made Stephanie even more annoyed. Tim just brought out his compact phone when Steph broke her angry glare and snatched the device herself. "Asshole," she muttered to herself.

Although she knew they should go back to the cave, she absolutely loathed the man that owned it. Stephanie knew that Tim meant—means well, but his constant loyalty to the bastard makes her nothing but irked. Tim broke his stupor, then stated, "I just need to call A, Spoiler. You can't go home with that big of a gash unless you want your mom to get suspicious."

For some reason, Alfred made her slightly scared. That man was too sassy and determined for his own good. No wonder he found out Spoiler's true identity even though she's always worn her mask around him.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to make it much farther without real medical treatment without passing out, so Steph relented. "Fine," and she shoved the phone back to her peer.

Robin didn't reply to her and instead began to skillfully text his parental figure. As soon as he dropped his phone back into his utility belt, his motorcycle appeared out of what seemed to be thin air. Huh. I didn't even see him press the button. Steph simply shrugged at her own thoughts, then deciding to be grateful for her friend's quick actions jumped on the vehicle. Behind Tim (he had insisted to drive them since her arm was 'injured', whatever that means), she began putting more pressure on her left forearm.

However, Tim noticed this and yelled back at her despite the whipping air. "Put your arms around my waist before something happens!"

Stephanie snorted and simply ignored her colleague. Robin sighed angrily and made a sharp turn, ensuring it couldn't actually make her fly off but enough of an impact for her to listen. Tim's hypothesis, of course, was correct and she reached her hurried arms around her good friend's waist in an effort to insure her own safety. Robin smirked to himself.

* * *

After a few more minutes of driving, they arrived at the cave for the second time that day. Steph let out a big breath of air she didn't know she was holding in when she saw Alfred. She took off her hood and mask then trudged over to the medical table, taking a seat. She proceeded to take off the piece of cloth which was then stopping bleeding.

Alfred tutted when he saw the damage, but nonetheless began working on the gash, not asking any questions. Although the occasional hiss of pain was heard from the heroine, she appreciated the fact that Alfred was helping her.

Tim simply pressed a button that made the motorcycle go to its proper place, then walked over to the computer. He began typing his victory over Lynx into a file, but he did so annoyedly. He knew that this wasn't the end for Lynx, she would just stay in prison for a few days then have her cronies plan her escape. He was tired, but persisted in filing and doing more research. After a few more minutes, he looked back at Steph. She was almost fully patched up, which ultimately relieved him.

"Thanks, Alfie!" Steph tested out her newly patched arm by moving it, which earned her a warning glare from the old man.

"You're most certainly welcome, Miss Stephanie. However," he gave her another reprimanding look, "I highly recommend avoiding overusing it, as it might reopen some of the stitches."

Stephanie stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, then stopped moving her arm. However, her smile came back when she jumped up from her chair and gave the butler and warm hug. She noticed he smelled of fresh cookies. How in the hell is he associated with Bruce? She took back her previous statement when he hugged back stiffly.

After that, Alfred simply blinked at her with a small smile (almost a smirk), then nodded his head, making a swift yet graceful exit up to the manor.

Stephanie grinned to herself, then turned to look at the man that was occupied with more research. Her smile faltered when she realized how little Tim seemed to care for her wellbeing.

Her anxiousness to start up a conversation with him ultimately won over consideration. "Are you doing more research on Lynx?"

It took a moment for Tim to realize she was asking him a question, which only heated her more. Stephanie pouted at Tim's back for a moment, then began to snap her fingers loudly. His stance did not budge.

Stephanie stood there, silent.

After a couple minutes he furrowed his brows in confusion at actually being in silence with Steph around. This is too rare, he thought to himself. He turned his body around, looking for Stephanie's short form.

All he found was air.

Huh.


	4. Chapter 4

Steph huffed as she left the dank cave for her apartment. Somehow, she did escape without his knowledge (even though 1. He is a bat and 2. She's not exactly known for her quietness). After what seemed like a long night it managed to get longer...all because of a stupid boy that can't sort out his priorities. She huffed again, but with more frustration lying underneath it.

After an hour or so of walking, she got to her house without being thankfully kidnapped or threatened. Every once in a while she would stop to take a deep breath, as the blood loss was starting to really catch up on her, making her tired and sore.

She quietly stepped into her apartment, closing the door behind herself as silent as possible. Stephanie believed her mother was still at work, but she could never be too sure. She couldn't have her mom beginning to get suspicious again.

As she entered her quiet house, she noted the remaining mail on the counter for herself. She stalked over to the envelopes angrily, then began to open them. She only received a few coupons, a couple of ads, then she encountered a letter from a mysterious writer. It wrote this:

Dear Spoiler,

I am to be released soon. I hope to see you and my old friend soon.

Neither an address nor name was left, but the letter was enough for Steph to understand who it was from. She huffed angrily for the millionth time that day, her frustration and anxiety at its highest in that day.

She shortly glanced at the letter once again, then crumpled it up, not bothering to throw it in the trash like the other contents she received in the mail. With her civvies and letter in her hands, she marched into her room and threw those contents onto her rickety bed.

Morning came before she knew it, and she looked out of her bedroom window, thinking quietly to herself. She didn't do this usually, but she needed this; the chaos around her seemed to deafen her thoughts. After a few minutes, she took a deep breath, then got up to get ready.

After putting on her favorite t-shirt, leggings, and some converse, she began walking out of her bedroom. Before she could do so, however, she remembered the crumpled letter lying on her nightstand, so she stopped.

She slowly walked over to her nightstand then swiftly snatched the paper. Looking around for a moment, she then proceeded to walk into the kitchen. No one was home, it seemed, so she popped a couple of frozen waffles into the toaster. After doing so, she opened the letter up again, reading the contents over and over again, looking for any clues.

She paced around her apartment quietly, muttering to herself and squinting at the stupid piece of paper. Steph ended up back on her old bed, re-reading the letter over and over again for clues.

She knew she would find none, however, and gave up after only a few seconds. Stephanie huffed annoyedly, then crumpled up the piece of paper again, chucking it into the trash bin.

After the toaster made a 'pop' noise, she walked to the kitchen to collect her food, then looked at the time. She froze, checked over the time again, then began to stuff the food into her mouth vigorously. "Gonna be late...," she chanted to herself as she grabbed her backpack. Stephanie had picked up a summer job at a coffee shop with very few hours and pretty good pay. The only downside to that, however, is that Tim comes and picks up a black coffee every morning at 8am while Steph is working.

She froze again.

Tim is going to stop by at the coffee shop.

She shook her head. Don't let him get to you like that, Steph. You're better than that.

She glared at the floor, then determined this to be no issue. I won't even notice him. He won't even notice me. And with that, she began to rush (for the second time that day) to work. "Stupid boys," she muttered to herself. "I should just date girls. They're hotter anyways." She reprimanded herself more as she was leaving with her backpack on her shoulders.

By the time she caught the bus, she was panting heavily from having to run down the flights of stairs in her apartment building. When Steph finally got on the bus, she took a seat next to some kid she could vaguely recognize from her old science class. He was a total geek, but he always made Steph smile. His name was Steve-she thought.

* * *

Stephanie was only a couple minutes late to work, which (in all honesty) does not faze the other baristas anymore. She quickly clocked in and put on her apron, also putting her backpack in the break room.

7:33

Only 8 more hours.

* * *

The whole time during the transaction she tried to remain as stiff as possible. With Tim right in front of her (all quiet and not himself around her) she couldn't help it.

Eventually he finished paying after what felt like an eternity and she gave him the receipt without even asking. She already knew what his answer would be if she asked, "Would you like your receipt?" After Steph went through a couple more customers she got into swiftly making Tim's black coffee. Which, in all honestly, was the only thing she was proficient at in the coffee-making field.

Finally she mumbled out his name and he shuffled over to her. She could tell he was scared. Good. He should be. He cleared his throat awkwardly, as she raised her eyebrows at him.

"I was..." he seemed choked up for some reason so she tilted her head and scrunched her eyebrows together. Tim suddenly grounded himself again. "Unaware that you were talking to me last night. When I was doing some more research."

Steph stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, deciding to move over to the portion of the counter that had no one to listen in. "Did you now?" Of course he followed.

He pursed his lips. "Yeah," he replied unceremoniously. "So I just wanted to point that out." He began to walk away, then stopped and turned to her again. He didn't notice that for a split second that Steph was concerned that he would actually leave and not make true amends with her. "Because I didn't want to ruin our friendship or anything and I really think that we could take down Lynx and-" He began to ramble, but Steph interrupted him with a contagious smile. He wanted to make amends.

"I accept your apology," he softly smiled, "Al."

They stared at each other for few too many moments, then Tim broke his fascination. "You do know that this shop is completely out of a two-mile radius of my internship, right?"

Stephanie snorted unladylike. "Sure." Tim chuckled quietly, then he stopped and stared at her for a moment.

"Do you wanna go?" He began to get flustered when she stared at him confusedly. "I mean...we can do more re-research and try to find a way to make sure Lynx can't escape and raise terror again."

Steph narrowed her eyes, looked around at the crowded halls and deliberated for less than thirty seconds. "Maybe," she answered him, then decided to say something before they started leaving for the cave. "Tim, I got this note from her and it pretty much says that her goonies are gonna release her soon. I got it in the mail in my apartment. I have no idea in hell that ended up in my mailbox, but right now it's on my nightstand in my bedroom."

Tim's eyes were calculating, concentrated as she said this. She could practically see the gears turning in his big brain. His face suddenly broke into a smile. "We could trace the paper to see if she actually wrote it. The paper they use in the prison is usually cheaper than the paper gangs/citizens use."

Steph snorted and shook with laugher, so Tim questioned, "What are you laughing at?"

She started laughing louder. "Imagine this big, burly gang member going to Staples for some paper..."

Tim simply blinked at her odd sense of humor, but decided against saying anything. Besides, they just got out of an arguments from him being too cold and uncaring. When her laughter began dying down, Tim decided it was time to leave. He checked his watch.

8:16

Stephanie locked her eyes back up to him and rolled her eyes. "Sense of humor much?"

He simply smirked. "I'm so amused. Can't you see?"

She tilted her head in a fondly annoyed manner, then her stance changed. "I need to finish my shift, then we can do our...stuff." She made a disgusted face. "That sounded wrong!" Tim looked flustered and avoided her eyes. "Anyway, when I do finish my shift and we can do research, I want it on my terms." Stephanie was impatient to ask Tim some questions, and she knew that if the research was by his terms then it would be all on the computer. That wasn't her type.

Tim looked peeved by this, however.

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Stephanie stuck up her nose defiantly, crossing her arms in a stubborn manner.

His gaze was calculating and pensive, and she knew Tim was thinking of ways to dodge that order. But he underestimates my abilities. "Fine," he finally uttered out after she didn't waver her stance.

Her arms dropped and a smirk returned to her face. "Awesome!" Steph thumbed toward the line that was impatiently waiting to pay. "I gotta go. See you tonight, " she paused dramatically, "Al." Her own smirk twitched, and she almost saw a smile pulling at the sides of his lips.

* * *

By the time her shift was done, she was almost jumping up and down with excitement. The more she thought of the adventure and rush, the more she looked desperately at the clock to see if it was 3 o'clock yet. She took her break at 11 o'clock and skimmed the newspaper for any more news on the gang. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the paper on them.

Thankfully, the rest of her shift went by quickly. And soon, she was able to clock out on time and rush back to her apartment for the piece of paper she left in her wastebasket. She had almost forgotten her backpack on her way out, but her knowing coworkers were able to remind her to take it home before she exited the door.

Steph unlocked the front door after rushing up the five floors and began walking to her room. She sighed as she threw her backpack on her squeaky bed and fished in her trash for the note left by Lynx. After vigorously searching for the paper, she finally found it. "A-Ha!" Steph's small victory made her say it aloud.

Stephanie then heard steps outside her room and a knock on her door. She swiftly stuffed the piece of crumpled paper in her backpack and yelled out a 'come in!'

Her mom entered the room in her regular clothes, her hand held defiantly over the doorknob. "Hey, Hun. I know you just got back from work but some boy was waiting by the door for you when I got back from shopping."

Her mother's tone was accusing, which made Steph's cheeks burn a bit. "His name's Al, Mom." She raised her eyebrows questioningly, knowing that if she asked such a direct question her daughter would get even more flustered. "And no...I'm not dating him."

Crystal nodded slowly, trying to hide a small smile from blooming on her face. "Sure, Hun." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "He seemed very eager to see you, ya' know?" This made the younger woman purse her lips and grab her backpack.

"Whatever, Mom." She walked over to the open door her mom still had a hold on. "I gotta go. We're going out to a movie." Steph saw her mother's mouth open to retort. "As friends."

Crystal smirked, then opened the door for her daughter to leave. "Okay, Hun. Just keep your phone on you."

"Got it!" Steph yelled back at her mother as she swiftly made her way to her colleague.


	5. Chapter 5

“What did your mother ask you?” Tim questioned Steph as they began to walk to the bus stop.

Steph pursed her lips shyly and with false confidence replied, “Nunya business!”

Tim simply looked at her with a calculating glance, but continued walking. Steph gripped the edges of her backpack until her knuckles were white. They got to the bus stop, and Steph was immediately greeted by a familiar face.

“Hey, Steph!” Adam greeted her with an all-too-enthusiastic smile. Tim, of course, observed this and grit his back teeth. “How ya doin?”

Steph was more than happy to reply heartily, “Hey, Adam! Today I’m not late!” Adam simply smiled warmly as a reply.

“I have a feeling this will be a one time thing Steph,” Adam commented sarcastically. Steph rolled her eyes, although she knew it was true. A short moment passed where they both just stared at each other. Adam began to ask something just as Stephanie began to say another.

“I was wondering-“

“This is my-“

They both stopped and giggled at their antics. Adam shook his head then said, “You go first.”

Steph looked behind her to make sure no one else needed to get on the bus, then decided to introduce her partner. “This is my friend, Al.”

Adam’s warm smile dropped for a moment as Tim was staring blankly at the 20-year-old. Stephanie noticed this exchange and her smile collapsed. “See you later, Adam,” Steph muttered with gritted teeth. She roughly grabbed Al’s arm and began rushing to her usual seat.

She frustratedly sat down with a huff. They sat in silence for a few moments while the bus began to leave the stop, Steph sporting a peeved look to cover her embarrassment and Tim a blank expression. Steph, of course, couldn’t stay silent for more than a few minutes at a time so she decided to speak up with a heavy sigh, “So we need to analyze what the paper is paper is made of, then we can figure out where it’s sold or whatever?”

Tim nodded shortly, still looking into the blue cushion in front of him with his arms crossed. Steph glared at him.

* * *

They finally arrived back to the manor after a long-suffering silence on the bus. The two walked down to the cave, Steph continuing to grip her backpack tightly. They both got down to the cave eventually and Steph took out the note she got from Lynx.

Tim held out his hand for her to give it to him. “You could at least say please,” he heard Steph mutter as she gave the paper to him. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, so she finally decided to speak up. “You know you’re turning more and more into Bruce.”

He stopped moving. He dropped the paper onto the computer and turned around to face his friend. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened on the bus. But you’re completely blowing it out of proportion.”

She clenched her jaw. “I am not ‘blowing it completely out of proportion’!” She gesticulated using finger quotes. “You’re the one who was brooding all because a guy friend was being nice to me!”

“That wasn’t why I was...brooding.” Tim defended himself with uncertainty.

_“Tim.”_

_“Steph.”_

“You know I trust you, right?” She asked him with a pleading tone. He nodded. “I feel like you’re hiding something from me. What happened between you and Lynx?”

He froze. His jaw clenched and his shoulders seemed to reach his ears. Steph’s eyebrows were clenched as well, creating a crease between them. Her tongue was lying placid on the roof of her mouth.

Then suddenly, “Hey, Steph!” Tim let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in, then proceeded back to analyzing the paper with seemingly heavier hands.

Steph turned around to face Dick Grayson and a scowling Damian Wayne. Steph put on a wide smile, “Hey, Dick.”

The man’s wide smile was so genuine and authentic that she almost forgot about her own worries/curiosities. “Working on a case with Timmy?” Dick questioned her.

She nodded as she began walking across the cave to talk to him properly. “Yep. We’re on the chase for Lynx.”

Damian raised an eyebrow and snorted, causing Steph to scrunch her eyebrows together again. “What?”

“I could easily catch her if given the case.” Steph glared at the young boy.

“I doubt that.”

“- _tt_ -“

Steph took a deep breath then looked back up at a worrying Dick. “Do you know anything about Lynx?” She attempted to coax answers out of him.

“Do you mean, ‘do I know anything about what happened between Lynx and Tim?’” She looked taken aback. “Ward of the World’s Greatest Detective. Plus I heard you guys fighting before we got down here. I took the stairs.” Steph’s eyes shifted downward. “You can trust Tim. I get worried about him too, but I don’t think he’s turning into Bruce.”

Her blue eyes looked back up at the man with relieved eyes. She smiled a genuine smile this time. “Thanks for that, Dick.” She looked back at Tim, who was now focused on the computer screen. “I tried asking him and he seemed...tense. I need to know what happened.”

Dick looked thoughtful for a moment. Damian still stood next to him with a curious look on his face, obviously trying to decipher what was going on. “He’ll tell you when he’s ready.”

She groaned quietly then heard a quiet _ding_. Steph turned around and began walking back to the computer, Dick and Damian trailing behind her. Apparently the paper analyzation finished, so a location appeared on a map of Chinatown. A small red dot stood on top of the western area of Chinatown with a name of a shop called ‘卡吕普索’ next to it.

“There’s only one place in Chinatown that sells this type of paper,” Tim informed them.

“It loosely translates to ‘Calypso’.” Damian told the other three, shocking them all. “I was taught various languages by the league. Chinese was one of them.”

“Hm.” Dick seemed surprised yet intrigued.

Tim sighed and pulled up the profile for Lynx. “This is Lynx, also known as Ling. She is an adept thief and is a leader of the Golden Dragons Gang.” He stopped for a moment. “According to our evidence, she escaped prison after Steph and I defeated her.” Damian looked at the file for a moment, wondering if he should say something. Tim observed this and spoke up, “What do you know, brat?”

Damian glared at the teen for the rude nickname then gave up his information. “Mother had connections with King Snake, who allegedly was furious at Lynx for taking his place as leader of the Golden Dragons.”

“So that means that if we don’t stop Lynx this could possibly turn into a gang war?” Steph looked worried while saying all of this.

Damian simply nodded.

Tim let out a long breath and a curse. Dick covered Damian’s ears, “Tim!” He reprimanded the boy for his language. Tim tilted his head and looked at the man blankly.

Steph intercepted their antics. “We should leave for the shop! We can ask one of the workers if they know anything about Lynx.”

Tim turned to her. “Okay.” He smirked. “Wanna take the bike again?”

She smirked back. “For sure.”

“Bye, guys!”

“Bye, Dick.”

* * *

Thankfully Stephanie held onto Al tightly as they rode the motorcycle, avoiding another potential ‘life lesson.’ After they both got off the bike and put it in a near alley to avoid being stolen, Steph put on sunglasses Tim let her barrow.

She put them on then looked around. “How do you guys fight with these on?”

He chuckled knowingly, then replied, “We manage.” Steph rolled her eyes fondly under her glasses, although she doubted Tim could see; the shades were so opaque.

They began walking to a quaint shop that displayed the desired title. “Let’s go!” Steph began to run up the entrance until she heard a command that made her expression twist.

“Wait! We need to make up a plan on what to ask. If we go in there and start asking random questions without any tact they’re going to get suspicious.” Steph huffed but she knew he was right. Like always.

“Fine.” She whined but complied. He smirked as he began catching up with her. “Don’t get cocky with me, Boy Blunder,” she muttered with a shake of her head.

He ignored her last comment, however, and addressed how they would enter. “We need to pose as two teens looking for some letter paper. Then we can start asking questions about other types they have in the back. The employee will _most likely_ bring us along with them then I can start questioning them.”

Stephanie raised her eyebrow at the declaration that Al would ask all the questions. “Are you saying I can’t do anything?”

Tim tensed for the second time that day.

“ _We_ —I meant _we_ can question the employee,” he corrected himself. Steph huffed again, blowing a piece of her golden hair away from her face.

She just turned around and swung open the front door, Al not too far behind her. As they both entered the small store, they heard a loud **_ding_** above their heads. Steph put on an expression of curiosity (which was actually mostly genuine) and began looking around the shop to make it seem as though she were a casual customer. Al began doing the same. Soon enough they heard scraping footsteps from around the counter.

They both looked up to see a Chinese man wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Hello,” he greeted them with some surprise in his voice. He didn’t get many white customers in this area. Al observed that the man had a slight accent, unsurprisingly.

“Hi!” Steph’s bright voice brought him out of his thoughts. “We were looking for a specific type of letter paper and we were wondering if you had it?” She was sporting a bright, charming smile.

Tim almost facepalmed. _Nice subtly, Steph_.

The Chinese man seemed slightly charmed by the young woman’s blinding grin. “Yes we do.” He motioned for her to come towards him. Al trailed Stephanie. “There’s some in the back. I’ll grab some for you.”

“Thanks.” Al replied smoothly, getting the Chinese man’s attention for the first time. Then the man disappeared to the back. He turned to Steph. “Nice job being subtle,” he commented.

She sighed angrily. “I don’t need to be _subtle_. He’ll bring back the paper and I’ll say we need a different type, then he’ll bring us with him to the back.” He seemed slightly taken aback by her plan. “Sometimes I think you think I’m stupid.”

He looked uncomfortable yet defensive. “I don’t think you’re stupid.”

“Then stop being a control freak and stop acting like Bruce,” she whisper-yelled to him with wide eyes, her temper beginning to show.

He gulped nervously, then repeated his previous statement, seemingly unable to say anything else. “I don’t think you’re stupi-“

“Okay!” The Chinese employee entered with a stack of letter papers. Steph immediately shifted her expression to her previous one, while Tim held a blank look. “Here is some letter paper I found in the back.”

Stephanie felt a sheet of paper, holding it between her thumb and index finger. “I’m looking for something thicker,” she said this with calculated displease.

“I don’t know if we have anything else in the back...”

“I’m sorry if this is so...direct, but is it okay if my friend and I go to the back with you to check? I mean, we know what kind of paper we want. Plus three sets of hands are better than one.” Stephanie smiled charmingly, attempting to convince the man.

“My boss would be upset if he found out clients were allowed in the back,” the employee informed them hesitantly.

“He doesn’t have to know.” The other man’s eyes turned to Al’s opaque shades after said teen spoke up.

The Chinese man sighed tiredly, then said, “Fine. Come along, please.” He turned towards the curtain that led to the storage area. Steph and Tim happily paced over to a half-door that led to the back of the counter. They both sported smirks on their faces.

By the time they got to the back, the man was holding a pinched expression, showing his worry. “Follow me, please.” They did so. He led them to a shelf area that had stacks upon stacks of custom paper. “Here. You may look for what you need to...”

Stephanie nodded and pretended to look for some specific type of paper. She hadn’t thought of a way to start the questions. Should they be forceful? Or coax the answers out of him?

Tim, apparently had decided on what to do and took out his bow staff. _Where did he even put that?_ “Tell us what you know about Lynx.” _Forceful, I guess. Fine!_ Steph-Spoiler- put down the paper and looked at the confused yet terrified employee.

Said worker put his hands up and said in a quavering voice, “I-I don’t know who you’re talking about!”

Before Al-Robin- could even say anything, Spoiler interrupted him, “There’s a Chinese lady with a cat helmet who bought letter paper here. Her name was Ling—also known as Lynx. She’s an infamous villain.” She tried to tell as much as she could about the villain. She knew if she were in his position she would be confused and would want answers.

A moment passed when Al raised his left eyebrow and tilted his head, wondering if this really was the right place and time to investigate. Maybe this worker didn’t know anything about the transaction and they just made a fool of themselves? His doubtful thoughts halted when the Chinese man opened his mouth and declared shakily, “Y-yes. I remember her.” He paused. “I think.”

Spoiler sighed. Then Robin began his questioning. “Did she tell you where she wanted the paper shipped?”

The worker nodded furiously while his arms began to relax. “I wrote the address down.”

Steph smiled happily while Al nodded with a small upturn to his mouth. For a moment, all three just stood there looking at each other. Then Spoiler asked, “Can we see the address please?”

“Y-yes!” The employee ran around the shelves to come back with a thick book that apparently held all the addresses of their clients. He opened the book and flipped through it anxiously. “Here!” He apparently reached the proper address and handed the book over to Spoiler, who appeared much more welcoming to the man.

“Thanks,” Steph muttered out and followed her eyes to where the name Lynx or Ling would lye on the page. Al followed her actions and saw the address.

_2476 22nd Street, Chinatown, Gotham City._

Steph turned back to the man, placing the book into his still shaking hands. “Thank you, Mr...”

“Tzu. Mr. Tzu,” he stated.

Tim narrowed his eyes behind his shades, curiosity showering over him. The last name seemed so familiar, but the face didn’t. Then it _clicked_. “Are you related to Ekin Tzu by any chance?”

The man sighed tiredly. It seemed like he got that question a lot. Maybe that was why he didn’t state his name at first, Tim thought. “He was my great-uncle. And before you ask, I don’t support his...actions.”

Steph looked absolutely befuddled.

She shook her head, snapping out of her confusion. “We should leave, Al. We have a cat to catch.” Tim blinked, staring at the older man for a moment and trying to determine if they should actually trust him. _‘You’re turning more and more into Bruce._ ’

He broke his glare.

“Thank you,” he muttered shortly to the worker. The older man seemed betrayed, but nodded once. Spoiler put on her bright smile again.

“Thank you, Mr. Tzu.” She began to leave then stopped before reaching the curtain. “And I’m sorry if I butchered that name!” She apologized before running outside, Al trailing behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to mention, before this chapter starts, that in this story Stephanie still had her baby when she was 15. It has been almost two years since she gave her away, and she’s still feeling some of the emotional consequences along with physical ones. 
> 
> Also: A woman’s choice is a woman’s choice. And I don’t think Stephanie regrets her decision at all.

_2476 22nd Street, Chinatown, Gotham City._

Tim repeated the address again and again in his head. He checked his watch. 5:03. So much time had passed already and he knew he had to go back to the manor to get his proper costume. When the last fight between Lynx, Spoiler, and Robin broke out, he didn’t have all of his proper accessories since he wasn’t prepared. Tim bit the inside of his cheek, slightly angry at himself.

_I should always be prepared_.

After turning the corner to where the bike would be, they were greeted by the intimidating sight of Batman. Although Tim didn’t seemed too fazed, inwardly he was nervous. He knew Batman wouldn’t approve of his team up with Spoiler considering how much they get on each other’s nerves. It was only a matter of time before he figured out about it. And his partner didn’t seem to happy either. Steph’s face turned a bright shade of red and her eyebrows furrowed, creating a crease between them.

“Robin,” Batman barely greeted, not even acknowledging the young woman to the left of his ward. “Leave the rest of the investigation to me. You’ve done enough.” His tone of voice left little room for argument, but Steph managed to find that little room and spoke up.

“Are you kidding?! We’ve done all the work and found the address. Why do you wanna take the ‘investigation’?” She poorly mocked his bass voice.

“This is my city,” Bruce reminded her for what seemed like the millionth time to her. His glare would’ve made any man fall to his knees, but Steph wasn’t disturbed at all. In fact, it only fueled her anger.

“This is my city too!” She shoved her hands on her hips defiantly. “I’m gonna fight for my city too.”

Batman growled. “This is not your job. You don’t belong in the hero community.” Tim’s mind went racing, his thoughts pulling him in millions of different directions yet not knowing how to intervene efficiently.

Steph narrowed her eyes. That stung, slightly. But people forget that she grew up in the slums of Gotham. She could be ruthless if she wanted to. “Did Dick Grayson belong in the hero community when he was only 10 years old?”

Tim halted his racing thoughts. _What did she just say?_ The teen could tell that Batman seemed surprised by that argument as well. Tim could tell that hit hard. Bruce didn’t open his mouth for a few moments, making Steph feel triumphant. A smirk began to blossom on her face.

Batman opened his mouth again, glare returning and his words calculated. “You’re to have Nightwing and Damian assist you for the rest of the investigation. That’s final.”

Steph and Tim both huffed at the mention of the brat. _Of course Bruce had to make us work with him. Bruce would coax answers out of the brat on what was happening during the investigation._ Stephanie opened her mouth again to make an argument, but she was interrupted. “It’s final,” Batman repeated authoritatively.

Tim pursed his lips, coming to a conclusion in his thoughts of a best solution. A compromise. “Can we have Batgirl join the investigation, too?”

Batman seemingly pondered for a moment, making Tim lose some hope. Steph seemed excited about the prospect of Cass joining the investigation. The two got along well and Cass was so understanding with Steph. The two were like fire and ice, but could not be more compatible.

Batman finally growled out his answer, “Fine.” Steph and Tim sighed in unison. “But you are to call her only if absolutely necessary. Am I clear?”

Tim nodded shortly, but Steph quipped back, “Yes, _Dad_.”

Batman glared at the obvious jab on his rules, then turned to leave. “Agent A needs you to be home soon. He said you’ve missed dinner too many nights in a row.” Then he left is a sweep of his cape.

Tim huffed frustratedly after the older man left his eyesight. “It wasn’t exactly helpful that you taunted him,” Tim informed her with some annoyance laced in his voice.

Steph looked insulted. “I _strongly dislike_ Batman.”

Tim closed his eyes for moment, trying to calm down his throbbing head. “I know.”

* * *

They got back to the manor about 30 minutes later at 5:45. Dinner usually started at 6:30 so Steph suggested they call their little team together. When the elevator doors opened, they saw the lithe form of Cassandra Cain fighting Damian Wayne.

Their fighting styles were so similar yet so different. Cass fought with a quiet yet deadly intent, while Damian was direct and loud. But both were flexible and quick on their feet. They both knew every outcome to every move because _they faced the consequences if they didn’t._

Tim crossed his arms as they walked across the wide expense of the Batcave. Stephanie followed, looking around the giant cave.

“We need to talk to you two and Dick,” Tim rudely interrupted their fighting, making Damian scowl. The two stopped, then Cassandra bowed respectively. Damian followed with an impatient expression etched on his face.

“Grayson is at his apartment in Bludhaven,” Damian snappily told them. Steph’s face fell in disappointment. “What do you need?”

Steph huffed, then began her tale. “Batman wants you, Batgirl, and Nightwing to join in on our investigation.”

Damian raised an eyebrow and actually smiled. Tim decided to speak up again, “You won’t be doing much, brat.” Damian’s smile instantly dropped and a glare replaced it. “You’ve only done a couple of investigations, and you have more than proved that you can’t resist fatally wounding someone in the field.”

Damian growled not too unlike Bruce. Steph almost felt bad for the kid. He seemed so excited at the thought of being able to work alongside his partners for an investigation, then it was taken away from him. She knew the feeling. Damian was still so new to the family and was trying to fit in the only way he could: _by fighting incessantly_.

Stephanie turned to Cass, who looked secretly excited about being able to finally fight. But only someone with an emotionally intelligent eye such as Steph could see that she was also nervous. She’s scared that we won’t trust her, just as we don’t trust Damian.

“Batman said to call you if absolutely necessary,”Tim informed Cass.

Steph almost wanted to smack the teen; but she couldn’t, so she made an excuse for Bruce. “He probably wants you to focus on your schooling or somethin’ like that.”

Cass’ jaw clenched. “You just made that up.”

Steph stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth. Tim bit the inside of his cheek. He knew that Cass would’ve wanted the cold hard truth rather than a reassuring lie. Cass was adept in reading body language anyways.

“I...” Steph seemed like she wanted to say something but couldn’t get it out.

“It is ok,” Cass forgave Steph. “We should call Dick.” Cass told them simply.

Tim nodded shortly, then quickly texted Dick to tell him about what they got him into. Dick texted back that he would be there after dinner in about an hour.

“Dick’ll be here after dinner.” To that, Damian - _tt_ -ed impatiently. Tim checked the time on his phone. It was only 5:56. “We have half an hour till we eat. I’m going to look into the address the shop owner gave us.” Tim began to walk away from the other three kids, making Steph and Damian furrow their eyebrows.

“Last time I checked, Drake, you said we were part of the investigation too.” Damian reminded him haughtily.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t come along,” Tim quipped back moodily. “I need coffee,” he muttered shortly to himself.

Steph huffed, then began walking over to the computer. Cass observed this.

* * *

_2476 22nd Street, Chinatown, Gotham City._

They didn’t find much on the place; only that it was a large warehouse located near the edge of Chinatown and it was bought out by one of Lynx’s cronies.

Tim frowned. Of course Lynx didn’t buy the warehouse herself so she could avoid some extra charges.

Stephanie and Damian didn’t do much, only conversing to each other while Tim did his thing. To them, it seemed that Tim wouldn’t have wanted their help anyways. Steph was inwardly upset.

Damian and Steph had only met a few weeks ago and the boy had been cruel and cold, but Steph insisted on giving the boy some ounce of respect. They clashed in so many ways, but Damian understood Steph in that he knew of her true intelligence and Steph understood Damian in that she knew of his uncomfortableness in his situation (despite only knowing each other in passing times).

The time 6:25 had come by and the four kids began walking up the cave stairs for dinner. The scents of spices invaded their senses as they got closer to the dining room. Cass, Damian, Steph, and Tim all sat down, Steph and Tim sitting across from Damian and Cass.

Alfred entered from the kitchen, rolling the cart holding the meals. Steph softly smiled, Damian’s lips upturned, Tim shifted his eyes to the cart, and Cass sat up straighter. Alfred passed out the plates of homemade chicken parmesean with spaghetti to the teens and gave Damian a salad with some rice.

“Thanks, Al,” Steph said with a smile. Tim and Cass did the same when they received their dinners. Damian just grunted in his own appreciative way. Then they began eating.

After a few minutes, Steph turned to Damian, a question burning on her mind. “Are you a vegetarian, Damian?”

He rolled his eyes, then answered, “No, Brown. I’m eating a vegetarian diet because I’m a meat-eater.” His sarcasm made Steph huff.

“I was just asking a question,” she reminded him as she would a child.

“- _tt_ -“

* * *

By the time dinner ended no one was thankfully dead or dismembered. Alfred was just about to collect their plates when Stephanie interrupted the elderly man. “I can help, Al!”

The old man tilted his head, then replied sassily, “Leave the plates in the sink please, Miss Stephanie. I can take care of them in a few moments.” Steph blew a piece of her hair out from her face, then nodded.

As she was collecting the couple of dishes, they heard an enthusiastic voice greet them, “Hey, guys!” Tim simply smiled awkwardly at Dick, Steph disappeared behind the kitchen door, while Cass waved and said a quiet ‘hi’. Damian just scowled. Tim could bet it was a pitiful sight to see. He grimaced to himself.

“Hey, Dami!” Dick ruffled Damian’s hair benevolently. The boy sat there with his arms crossed and a scowl enveloping his expression, but didn’t turn away from the affection. The Romani man then decided to ask about the case.

“Well, you know the basics. Bruce is just trying to get you all on the case so he can monitor Steph and I.” Tim informed Dick. Dick pursed his lips, trying to hold back a comment, then nodded shortly.

Steph then returned with an amused smile etched on her face (probably from a retort made by Alfred). “Hey, Dick,” she greeted, getting his attention.

The 24-year-old man smiled in return. “Happy to join the team, then.” Steph grimaced. “Though I’m sure you guys don’t need me, Cass, or Dami. You’ve practically done the case by yourselves.” Steph and Tim smiled gratefully at the man, while Damian rolled his eyes.

“May we please get this over with? I couldn’t possibly handle knowing that I’m working with Drake any longer than I should.” Damian interrupted them.

“I thought you wanted to work on the case,” Steph commented.

Damian glared at the young woman. “That was before fully realizing who I was working with.” Steph rolled her eyes.

Tim scoffed moodily, ignoring the last two comments. “Fine, brat. We’re going out tonight to end the investigation. Spoiler, Nightwing, and I will fight Lynx and you and Batgirl can serve as **backup**.” Tim looked directly at Damian while saying the last sentence, knowing the young boy would do anything for a good fight. And Lynx was perfect for a good fight.

Cass didn’t seem to mind being as backup, but then again they never knew what she was thinking. Dick scrunched his eyebrows, then announced, “I don’t need to fight Lynx. This is your guy’s fight and I shouldn’t interfere unless absolutely necessary.” He paused. “And you both know I won’t tell Bruce.”

Steph grinned at the man. Tim then turned to the 8-year-old whom was still sitting cross-armed. “Can we trust that you won’t tell Bruce?”

Damian glanced at his predecessor, then informed him, “I won’t tell Father. That is, unless you don’t put me in the file report. I did, after all, give you information to help your investigation _and_ backup.” His haughty retort made Tim almost glare at the boy. Almost. But the young man held back for his own sake.

Tim held out his hand. “Deal,” he finalized. Damian just glanced at the hand, seemingly confused; he glared at the older boy, thinking he was pulling a trick on him.

Dick decided to jump in. “Dami, it’s a custom where you shake someone’s hand in order to finish a deal,” the man explained.

Damian’s eyes widened, then understanding the custom. He sniffed arrogantly, then shook Tim’s awaiting hand.

“Deal.”

* * *

By 7:30 they were all changed in their hero suits, Damian’s consisting of a black hood with swords attached to his hips. Tim had glanced at the maintained swords, then muttered a, “You better use those only when necessary.”

Damian had actually growled protectively over his signature weapons.

Steph sighed quietly to herself as she took her Spoiler costume out of her backpack and walked over to the changing rooms. As she began changing, she looked down at her own body. The stretch marks had faded but were still slightly noticeable, despite her taut stomach. She shook her head, then continued on changing _. No use in thinking about her now_. Stephanie tried to resist those thoughts, but every once in a while they would come back full force in waves of sadness. She didn’t regret giving up that baby, but she had to live with the fact that she could never see the baby again. _I’m surprised Mom didn’t freak out about Al earlier_. She thought, _I’m surprised she trusts me._

Stephanie’s eyes blurred with tears as she lifted up her hood. She blinked them away quickly, then paced outside to the main part of the cave where the others were probably waiting.

The others all except for Dick were ready. Stephanie tried blinking away some tears that insisted on coming up, Tim thought of every contingency plan, Cass seemed calm and neutral, and Damian seemed ready for a fight. A few moments later, Dick came out. “Sorry,” the man apologized, “it’s hard putting on this dang suit.” He looked around, then sighed. “Everyone ready?”

They all glanced at each other, then looked up at Nightwing, who then motioned to Robin. Robin raised an appreciative eyebrow at the man, then started. “Well, we know the location, right?” Everyone nodded. “Lynx will most likely be patrolling the warehouse considering the time. From my personal...guesses, she would be around 21st and Jefferson. We need Batgirl to go covert in the warehouse to make sure everything stays in order while Lynx is distracted with us.” Batgirl nodded once. “Nightwing and Damian-what do we even call you?”

Damian thought for a moment. “Ibn.”

Tim faltered. “Okay,” he said slowly, not understanding the context. “Anyways, Nightwing and Ibn are to _stay together no matter what. Got it_?” Ibn scowled, but nodded. “You two are going to track down King Snake and see if he has any other incriminating evidence on Lynx. He should be near the eastern edge of Chinatown from my tracking.” Robin paused for a moment. “Nightwing is in charge of the intimidation tactics. Don’t do anything life-threatening, Ibn,” Robin reminded the boy with an authoritative voice.

Steph, now composed and focused on the mission ahead of her, jumped in. “And I’m guessing we’re supposed to track down and fight Lynx?”

Robin smirked, then nodded. “Batgirl, you have your comm., right?” The teen nodded. “Remember to always have it on, incase one of us needs you.”

Batgirl’s lips upturned; and suddenly the whole atmosphere shifted to a buzzing, excited one.

Tim turned to his partner. “Wanna take the bike again?”

“For sure.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slight mature themes in this one and one f-bomb dropped. 
> 
> This one is the longest in the whole story, so hell ye!

The two teens were soon off onto the night. Riding on the red bike felt exhilarating, and they fell into their teasing banter after only a couple minutes of riding.

“Bet you’ll get distracted by her again!” Steph teased in his ear. He blushed, but kept looking forward. Then he made a sharp turn, causing her to wrap her arms around his midsection quickly to ensure her own safety. Old habits don’t really die.

“I was never _really_ distracted by her in the first place. If anyone were distracted it was you.” Tim’s comment didn’t faze her much. Steph had eyes, but she was always so focused and determined on any task she completes.

“Yeah, right!” Her chaffing held a hesitant tone, though, and Tim noticed. His shoulders slumped slightly. _She didn’t believe him._

“You know...” Tim cringed for a moment before saying this. “Batman trains us for _everything_ we may encounter in the field.” Steph still held onto Tim’s midsection and her head was now resting on his shoulder, so when she tilted her head in confusion Tim sighed. “Even for people like Lynx,” he continued a little quieter.

Steph tried to turn her head to get a look at Tim. “Are you blushing?”

Tim almost turned his head, but he couldn’t because he was leading the motorcycle. He didn’t say anything in response, so Steph started laughing quietly in his shoulder.

Tim’s blushing resembled a tomato by then, and Steph was now starting to realize what her partner was putting down before. “Are you seriously saying that Batman put you up to training where you would be hot and bothered?” Steph tilted her head cutely while saying this, despite it being a crude question.

Tim simply nodded once and that sent Steph into a frenzy of laughs and giggles that made Tim blush harder. By this time they were about 3/4s to 21st and Jefferson, meaning they only had about 3 minutes left of this stupid ride, Tim noted.

Steph’s arms were now loose and free from Tim’s stomach because of her incessant roaring. By the time she stopped, Tim was almost back to his normal color (a very pale). Her lasting giggles didn’t stop her from giving a poor imitation of the Batman voice, though. “ _‘Robin, this is Catwoman.’_ ”

His blush was back on his face, and Steph was guffawing again. She put her hands on his shoulder and attempted to look into his lenses, ready to tease him more. “Did you ever ask Batman for tissues?”

The comment made Tim swerve a little from the unexpectedness, and he was biting his lip now. Steph was laughing even harder. “S-Steph!” He attempted to seem angry and frustrated, but she knew that he was flustered and embarrassed. She smiled.

They suddenly stopped in alleyway, and Spoiler huffed. _No more teasing. Dangit._ Then she got off the bike before Robin could. She kissed his cheek with a smack. “I’m just teasing, Tim.”

The teen looked momentarily surprised by the kiss, then shook his head with a huff. He would never understand girls. “I don’t even know why I told you that,” he muttered as an afterthought.

He looked at the young woman for a moment. Her blonde hair glittered in the dark and gloomy city, and her blue eyes were excited...awaiting adventure. A smirk stretched on her bright face, and Tim couldn’t help but think about how she could be so happy around him. Tim could be so gloomy and thoughtful, but Steph was so bright and impulsive. Maybe that’s why they worked together well. Or maybe they didn’t? Tim honestly couldn’t tell at this point because of this case.

Then she began to skip over to a fire escape. “We need to think about this,” he blurted out. He was sure he sounded pretentious, but he honestly didn’t care too much. “The last time we didn’t, we almost lost that fight.”

She then stopped and turned around. Her head was tilted challengingly. “We still won that, though.” Her eyes narrowed an inch.

Tim threw his leg over the side of his bike to face the blonde girl. “It doesn’t matter. She just broke out. And we can’t have that happen again.”

She grit her teeth so hard that she was surprised Tim didn’t hear. “Well, now we know that we need to send her to somewhere where there’s advanced security. We’re less stupid now!”

“This is not about being stupid!”

“Then what the hell is this about!?”

He took a short breath. “This is about you making impulsive decisions that affect us as a team.”

She scoffed loudly. “You know what I’ve learned about you Bats?” Tim tilted his head with a glare. “You take life too seriously!” Tim rolled his eyes. “You can’t do anything without thinking of the worse case scenario! And guess what?” She didn’t bother pausing. “Not everything in life is going to end in the worse case scenario!”

Tim let her finish her rant. Then huffed through his nose. “Sometimes that thought process saves our lives. Jason lost his life by not using it.” He clenched his jaw and looked to his left; anything to avoid looking at the bright young woman in front of him.

A long pause ensued.

He could literally hear her nervous gulp. “Tim,” he couldn’t look at her still, “that’s not gonna happen to me.” As soon as she claimed this, she pursed her lips. In all honesty, she didn’t know why she said it. No hero could ever be sure; Jason wasn’t sure— and he may be back from the dead, but the Red Hood seemed so dead inside. That showed when he hurt his replacement.

“You can’t be sure,” he corrected her in a quiet voice. The quietest voice she’s ever heard from him.

Another pause—this one lasted over 5 minutes. Tim counted.

“Fine,” her voice broke the silence and made the young man flinch. “What’s the plan?”

His chest rose, as did his head, and he looked back at the Stephanie. He didn’t want to question her on why she actually gave into him, as he knew that would only make her want to the opposite of his plan. A small smirk worked onto his countenance.

“We need to patrol Jefferson and 20th, then we can work inward to until we encounter Lynx. If we don’t find her within the hour we need to comm. Batgirl,” he declared. “When we do find Lynx, you need to hide while I fight her. After a few minutes, you can use the element of surprise and help me arrest her.”

Spoiler pursed her lips. She ultimately didn’t appreciate how little part she played in the plan (especially since she had done the _entire_ investigation with him), but she knew he could be so paranoid at times. Plus, Lynx probably knew that Steph would attempt to intervene at some point. The element of surprise just wouldn’t work. _If I’m going into a fight, I’m going in my terms_.

“Okay,” she muttered, finally. She could tell that Robin was happy with the way she just accepted the plan (outwardly, at least). Maybe they were a good team? Steph could never tell.

“Okay, then,” he said, trying to disguise a grin. “Let’s go!”

Steph’s lips twitched. “Race ya’!” Then she raced to the fire escape, Robin not too far behind her. She laughed airily, then he chuckled.

* * *

They had been patrolling for about forty-five minutes when they heard a faint, yet noticeable noise echo among the rooftop where they stood. Robin’s head snapped where the noise was coming from, and they both stood still, yet ready for a fight. The only noise they could hear was their faint breathing that they were attempting to control.

Spoiler huffed after a couple of minutes of observing. “Guess it was just a cat,” she muttered aloud. Robin shook his head; it must have been something. They had been patrolling for almost an hour and they hadn’t encountered one suspicious noise. He sighed when he realized how paranoid he sounded. _Maybe he was turning into Bruce_.

Robin stood down.

Spoiler’s fingers led to her comm link. She normally didn’t use Bat comms, but in this instance it was absolutely necessary. Especially since the Bat himself decided to jump in and take control of the situation as he always does.

“Have you guys found anything out from King Snake?” She questioned Nightwing and Ibn. Then the young woman huffed when she remembered the proper way to greet someone on comm link. “Spoiler to Nightwing?”

She heard Nightwing chuckle faintly, which made her blush at her own forgetfulness. “We have definitely found enough to send her to Blackgate, Spoiler.”

Robin joined the conversation, then. “How’s your little partner?” Steph didn’t need to glance at her own to know he’s scowling.

Nightwing let out a breath. “He’s okay...” He paused. “I only had to stop him once, which is progress.”

Spoiler and Robin snorted simultaneously. “Jinx!” Spoiler shouted. Even though Tim had the lens on she could tell he was rolling his eyes, but she didn’t care much.

“Robin to Batgirl,” Tim paused for her to answer.

“Batgirl here.”

“Everything normal in the warehouse?” Tim asked.

“Yes,” she replied shortly.

Tim sighed. “Perfect. Spoiler and I are still patrolling the area. Comm if you guys need anything. Spoiler and Robin out.” Robin turned off his comm link and shifted his attention to his partner.

“Let’s continue patrolling east for an hour more. She must be here somewhere...” he trailed off, in thought.

She crossed her arms and blinked. “Or maybe you were wrong and she’s not out tonight.” She paused. “When we get back to the cave, you owe me a Coke.”

Robin’s eyes narrowed, but she could tell he was fighting a smile. Thank lord she were there, or else Robin would think himself to death. “Let’s head out,” he said.

Robin began sweeping east with Spoiler on his heels. He could hear her panting lowly, but he didn’t mind it much. He knew she could handle the physical exertion. He continually scanned the area around which he was speeding past. Nothing much caught his attention; only some late night smokers on rooftops and small group gatherings he didn’t care much for.

Then he noticed a small movement to his 8 o’clock. A movement so minuscule that the average person wouldn’t have been able to see it. Fortunately, he was specially trained. He didn’t falter his movement for a few moments, though, as he didn’t think that Spoiler saw the speck.

Robin reached for his comm. “Spoiler, Lynx to the 7 o’clock. Duck for cover in three,” he informed her calmly.

Robin, however, could feel her slow down before they ducked down behind a rooftop entrance. Spoiler huffed. “Finally,” she muttered to herself.

Robin checked his utility belt (third time that night) while Spoiler was peeking her head above the brick. When he looked back up to see his partner giving away their position, his eyes widened and he immediately pulled her down. Spoiler actually _growled_.

“What the hell, Tim? I was trying to find her!” Her exclamation did nothing to ease his tensions, as she was surely compromising their position.

He grit his back teeth. “I’ll find her. Just stay here,” she raised her eyebrow challengingly, “please,” he added. Her eyebrow, however, did not waver. He released a ragged breath, then reminded her, “Remember how we agreed that I would make the first move, then you could come in later when I need assistance?”

She pursed her lips. “Yeah,” Steph said. She didn’t say anything more, so they just crouched there, staring at each other; Steph’s arms were crossed over her chest, and Tim’s body was turned away from her’s.

Finally, she released a humorless huff. “Fine, Boy Blunder. But keep your comm on the entire time.” Robin simply blinked a couple of times, then left in a hurry.

Spoiler sighed.

* * *

Robin was running from rooftop to rooftop.

Then, there he stood. Right where Lynx was last seen by them. Robin took out his bo-staff (twirling it a few times for effect), then peered around. His grip tightened when he heard her almost silent footsteps.

“Hello, Timothy.”

Robin snapped his staff in her direction, though she remained completely unfazed. “I know the girl is with you.”

His eyes narrowed dangerously, but he still didn’t say anything.

“Well, when she does arrive, I will be more than happy to best her in a battle.” Then he threw a few smoke pellets. He knew she was an expert even in the dark, but he was too.

He turned on his smoke-vision lenses, then observed his surroundings. He huffed when he realized Lynx was able to escape the smoke. He turned around, staff at his defense. He could see, hear, _feel_ the clash of the sword and bo-staff.

Instantly, they both launched into fighting with their equipment. Lynx was all grace while Robin was all precision. The clanging and clashing of their weapons reverberated in their ears. No doubt Steph knew what was going on.

Tim grit his teeth. _Not yet_.

Robin suddenly changed his style, instead going in to give a low sweep-kick at her ankles. Lynx launched her body backwards with a back handspring, avoiding the move. Robin moved his body back upwards in a fighting stance, then twirled his bow-staff.

Lynx began sprinting back to him, sword remaining in her right hand, and tried to drop kick Robin. Tim dodged by moving to his left, then immediately jumped back into action. Robin swung his bo-staff at Lynx, who barely managed to use her sword to defend herself.

The two were stuck there; Tim concentrated and determined to hold his staff and Lynx refusing to give in. Eventually, Lynx sunk her knee into Tim’s ribs. Tim grit his teeth, but refused to double over and break his concentration.

Using kinetic energy, Robin retracted his leg to his stomach, then suddenly extended it to ram it into Lynx’s bending knee. She involuntarily doubled over, so her sword was back down to her right side. Robin used the opportunity to smack Lynx’s outer right elbow with his bow-staff.

The force was so intense that Lynx’s sword collapsed on the floor uselessly. The woman growled, then looked up at Robin with a blood-thirsty look. Robin didn’t bother backing down, instead tightening his grip on his staff.

Lynx suddenly dropped a smoke-bomb, attempting to even the playing field yet again. Tim turned on his smoke-vision again with an angry huff. He looked around, then squinted his eyes even more. _Where was she? Surely she didn’t retreat._

Robin walked to the very edge of the rooftop, thinking of where the villain could be. Then he noticed two distinct figures clashing on two rooftops away from his. He sighed. _Steph_.

The two fought desperately compared to the grace and fluidity Robin and Lynx had fought with. Spoiler didn’t have as many toys as both Robin and Lynx, so she was left with her fists and legs.

Spoiler ducked just as Lynx executed a roundhouse kick over her head, then huffed. She kicked out her own leg to trip Lynx, who just did a back handspring to avoid it. Spoiler got back up into a fighting stance, then made a ‘come hither’ motion with her hand, prompting Lynx to start running towards her with her sword.

Spoiler’s eyes widened, then she executed a right roll just as Lynx was about to drop kick her. The blonde woman got up immediately, then started a flurry of punches the other woman was barely able to avoid.

After a few moments of exchanging useless blows, Steph was finally able to hit Lynx’s right ribs, though the woman refused to show her pain. Lynx was incessant on blocking and bending from Spoiler’s fast punches.

When Robin arrived at the scene, he noted that both Steph was refusing to give up on Lynx and that her energy wasn’t waning. It seemed as though Steph could take care of herself.

He looked at both of the women closely, then smirked to himself. _Lynx’s hair, unlike last time, lay in a low ponytail._ It looked like she didn’t want Steph making any attempts of her hair anymore.

His thoughts were interrupted when the sound of another sword pulling out of its sheath stopped Spoiler’s punches. “What the fu-!?” Stephanie yelled before Lynx kicked her in the gut.

Spoiler tumbled to the ground, so Robin entered back in the fight. He still had his bo-staff firmly grasped in his right hand, so the fight was evenly matched (unlike with Spoiler).

Like before, the two moved with precision and grace. Lynx was more confrontational than Tim, who observed and acted. Tim, after a couple minutes of equipment fighting, furrowed his brows. Sweat was forming heavily on his upper brow, and Lynx was grunting occasionally.

Spoiler, who had called the GCPD while the two were fighting, finally re-entered the fight by kicking Lynx’s back from behind her. The woman lost her balance, but did not trip. Steph glared at her just for that.

Robin was able to smack Lynx’s right wrist with his bo-staff, making the woman grunt again and drop the sword. Spoiler was able to land a few more blows on the woman, the final punch being her left cheek.

They could hear the increasing sounds of police sirens under them, but Tim didn’t seem to hear them. He reached in his utility belt and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, snapping them around Lynx’s bruised wrists.

“Timothy,” Ling purred, refusing to bow her head, “I will never stop. I am inevitable.” Her confidence made both Spoiler and Robin glare at her.

Robin fared to not say anything, but Stephanie couldn’t help herself. “Just,” she said angrily, “shut up.”

Lynx snapped her head towards the blonde woman. “Stephanie.” The full name almost made Steph flinch. _Almost_. Thankfully, Lynx’s ass will be in Blackgate soon. “I underestimated you, girl,” Ling continued. She then turned to Robin. “Perhaps you do have a type, Timothy.”

Stephanie jerked her head to Tim. _What the fu-_

The police arrived just at that moment, _of course_ , so Robin grabbed Lynx’s hands, not-so-gently, and began walking her to the edge of the roof. Spoiler blinked once, then paced to where her companion was. She waved her left hand in order to get Jim Gordon’s attention.

The whole GCPD’s attention was on them, now, so Robin grappled down to turn Lynx in. Spoiler followed not-too-far behind.

Robin almost dragged Lynx to a police officer, Commissioner Gordon following the vigilante to ensure Lynx wouldn’t escape. Spoiler was beside Gordon, talking to him animatedly. “Make sure she gets shipped off to Blackgate.” Robin handed Lynx to a local police officer, who shoved her in the back of a police car. Her face remained blank, neutral. Spoiler continued, “Nightwing and his new...partner got enough evidence to lock her up for good, so they should send that whenever.”

Robin, after talking to the officer for a few seconds, left the scene by blending into the shadows.

Commissioner Gordon turned to the blonde, then asked, “You’re the new super-heroine, Spoiler?” Steph nodded with a smile; _she was making a difference._ After a tense, but short moment of silence (which she thought he was going to tell her to shut down the whole gig), Gordon just chuckled quietly. “Well, thanks Spoiler. Tell my thanks to Robin too.”

“Will do!” She replied, then began leaving to find her partner.

Gordon paused, pursed his lips, then said, “I just have one question, though.” Steph stopped walking, then turned to the older man. She tilted her head, as to hear what he wanted to ask. Then, he asked, “Are you another Bat?”

Steph blinked confusedly. _He thinks I’m a Bat? I could kinda see the correlation, since I’m working with Robin. But-_ “No,” Steph replied. “I’m Spoiler,” she said simply.

Gordon cleared his throat. “Okay.”

Steph smiled brightly, glad that he was satisfied with the answer, then fled the scene.

* * *

She was able to catch up with Robin after searching for him for a few minutes. He was, of course, in the shadows watching the scene play out.

“Hey,” she greeted him.

“Hi.”

A minute passed where they didn’t say anything, just looking down at the scene below them. Eventually, Steph began talking again. “I didn’t pull her hair this time,” she joked.

Tim blinked once, then let out a snort. “No you didn’t,” he said. His hands were in his lap, wringing. He was nervous. He knew what she was going to ask once again.

“Tim-“

“No name in the field.”

She rolled her eyes. _Such a Bat_. Then she continued, “What happened between you two?” Tim’s eyes were now solely focused on the GCPD, but his hands stopped wringing.

Steph didn’t break her focus from his face, though, and continued staring at him till he told her _something_. She could practically see the gears turning in his head. Finally, he said, “We were together.” Then he added, “Romantically.”

Steph stopped looking at him, and instead started looking at the GCPD as well. “Oh.” She snorted. “Okay.”

Her un-ladylike snort broke Tim’s attention. “Okay?”

Steph turned her head to him again, eyes understanding. “Tim,” he didn’t bother to correct her again, “we all have fucked up pasts. We can’t fix that.” Tim’s eyes went downward, but he made no comment. Steph pursed her lips, then muttered lowly, “Plus, she’s kinda hot.”

Tim’s eyes snapped upward again, but they were now amused, keen. Steph but her lip, unknowingly leaning into him. Tim parted his lips slightly, then took a deep breath, breaking their moment. “We need to tell the others that we have her under custody,” he stated.

Steph blinked a couple of times, then nodded once. “Right,” she huffed.

Robin reached for his comm., then began talking. “Robin to team. Spoiler and I have captured Lynx and taken her into custody. The GCPD is taking her to Blackgate, but Nightwing’s evidence needs to be sent still. Can that be taken care of?”

“Sure thing, Robin!”

“Thanks,” Spoiler said. “Spoiler to Batgirl? Anything incriminating found at the warehouse?”

“Nothing,” Cass replied.

Robin huffed. “Okay, then. It’s not necessary to be there anymore. Everyone report back to the cave, please. Robin and Spoiler out.” Tim reached for his comm. again to turn it off.

After a couple minutes of them looking down at the scene, apparently lost in their thoughts, Steph spoke up. “Wanna start heading back now?”

Robin nodded once, then began running across the rooftop. Steph smiled lightly to herself, then began following him to his bike.

* * *

The two were riding his bike for only a few minutes when they heard a small yell above them. Both Robin and Spoiler stopped, looked at one another, then leapt off the bike and onto the fire escape to stop whoever was in danger.

While racing up the fire escape, they heard another, more distinct yell which sounded like a young girl. “Spoiler!” They could hear the girl yell.

It sounded as if the yell was coming from another point on the fire escape, so they began to scale the building. When the two teens turned the corner, they saw a little dark-skinned girl patiently waiting for them outside her window.

Steph squinted her eyes, then said uncertainly, “Zay?”

The little girl’s head snapped to the partners, then a wide grin adorned her face. “Miss St-Spoiler!” Zay climbed off her window sill and began walking on the rusted metal to see the pair better. “Hello!”

Robin raised an eyebrow. “Was that you who yelled?” He asked.

“Yeah.” The girl had the decency to look abashed. “I’m sorry! I’ve been waiting to see you guys for a few days and I _really_ wanted to say hi.”

Robin cleared his throat awkwardly, obviously not knowing what to do with that information. However, Spoiler put on a wide grin, then chirped, “Hi Zay! It’s good to see you again!”

Zay’s face lit up. “Daya!” An older female voice suddenly yelled from behind her. The partners could only guess this was her mother. “¡Ven aquí (Come here)!”

Zay blushed brightly, then apologized, “Lo siento (I’m sorry). Mi mamá is calling for me.” Steph nodded, while Tim blinked. He still had no clue as to who this girl was. “Please don’t go! I’ll be right back!”

“Daya! ¡Ahora mismo (Right now)!” Her mother yelled just as Zay started crawling back into the window.

“Sí, mamá. Yo se (Yes, mom. I know.),” the child muttered the last part to herself in order to avoid a punishment. A minute passed where the couple could hear the mom and daughter talking in Spanish, then Zay returned.

“I only have two more minutos (minutes) out here,” she sighed.

Steph’s grin didn’t curb. “It’s okay, Zay.”

Tim finally asked the question which was drifting through his head, “How do you two know each other?”

Steph and Zay looked directly at one another. Then, Zay stated, “She saved me once, then I met her on the bus.”

Her simple explanation did nothing for Tim, though, because he furrowed his brows and asked, “As Spoiler?”

“No!” Zay burst into giggles at the thought of a super-heroine taking a bus.

Steph chuckled and turned to Tim. “She was able to figure out who I am,” she said casually. Tim’s eyes widened, then he turned to the still laughing little girl. He opened his mouth, but Steph stopped him before he could say anything. “Don’t worry, Boy Blunder. I don’t think she knows your identity—or anybody else’s. I think it’s just because we’re kinda near the same neighborhood,” Steph explained. “I’ve seen her before,” Steph tried to reassure him.

Tim closed his mouth, making Steph smirk. “You underestimate people,” she paused, “and yourself.” Stephanie turned to Zay, who was finished giggling.

Zay’s demeanor suddenly changed. “I’m sorry Miss Spoiler, but I have to go.” The little girl’s bottom lip stuck out cutely and her amber eyes went downward.

“It’s okay, Zay,” Steph assured her, which made Zay look up. “I can visit again. I _know_ I’ll see you again!”

Zay’s shoulders released their previous tension. “Thank you, Miss Spoiler. For everything, I mean.” She turned to Robin. “Thank you, Mister Robin,” she added. Zay paused, almost hesitated, then sprung up to hug Steph around the older girl’s waist. Although the hug was short, it said what Zay really wanted to convey. Zay then wrapped her arms around Tim’s torso, making Steph smile. The hug was shorter, but no less thankful.

The young girl backed up. “Bye,” she whispered, almost as if the conversation was a secret.

Steph chuckled, then whispered back, “Bye.”

Steph elbowed a quiet Robin, who took the hint and put on a smile. “Bye, Zay.”

The young girl disappeared into the window, closing it behind her.

* * *

They eventually got back to the cave. Eventually. After stopping a few muggings and a couple shoplifters. Steph claimed the night was still young—to which Tim replied that it was almost four in the morning. She just shrugged it off as if it was nothing.

The rest of their team was at the cave, obviously waiting for them when they got back. “I am glad you have finally made an appearance, Brown and Drake,” Damian commented impatiently.

“Dami,” Dick warned his partner. “It’s fine.” He turned to the couple. “But we’ve been waiting for a while.” He paused, eyes understanding. “Get caught up in a few muggings?”

Steph looked only a little sheepish. “Yeah,” she said, “sorry, everyone.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Tim muttered tiredly behind her as he put his bike on its kickstand.

Dick just nodded while Damian scoffed arrogantly. Cass simply stood near the computer, observing. The group heard almost silent footsteps reaching them, then Bruce’s muscular figure appeared from the shadows.

Stephanie audibly huffed, then said, “Sorry we’re late. I wanted to stop a few muggings and shoplifters.”

Bruce didn’t care much for her explanation, because he simply stated, “Report.”

Tim immediately started jumping into a full report of the night. Stephanie, in all honesty, did not listen to a single word so she didn’t bother contributing to it. No doubt the paranoid man would make them do a full typed report on the whole case later. Steph huffed angrily to herself. _Annoying old man._

Tim’s report stopped, so she guessed he was fully finished. Bruce nodded once, then turned to the computer. The Bat typed a few things out before turning back to them. “A full report of the case is due tomorrow night. Thank your team, then head to bed. You’ve had a long night,” Bruce informed them.

Steph’s jaw clenched. So the Bat was sorta concerned about them getting enough sleep. _Maybe he does have a heart._

Tim nodded once. “Yes. G’night, Bruce,” the young man said tiredly.

“Goodnight, everyone,” Bruce replied before walking up into the manor.

The rest of the group said their ‘goodnight’s and started retreating upstairs. Dick, Damian, and Cass had taken off their costumes while Robin and Spoiler were out, so they were able to immediately leave upstairs.

“Wait,” Steph interrupted them. “I just wanna say thanks. Like, really. You guys did a lot to help,” she thanked them.

“You’re welcome for carrying your absolutely abhorrent case,” Damian said snidely.

Tim rolled his eyes. “You can’t say that, Dami!” Dick warned the boy, which did little to nothing. “You’re very welcome, guys!” Dick said to Steph and Tim.

Tim smiled gratefully at his brother-figure. “Thanks again, guys. I’m going to go change. I’ll let you all go to sleep. Sorry for keeping you all up, again,” Tim apologized.

Steph smiled brightly at them, then turned to the showers/changing rooms. “Goodnight,” she said as Dick, Cass, and Damian began to walk sluggishly upstairs.

Both Tim and Steph took their respective showers and changed into clothes that Alfred had left for them.

“Steph?” Tim got her attention. “Thanks for understanding. And for pulling through in the case,” he said.

Steph grinned a wide as she could; she quickly got tired after she took a hot shower. “Yeah. No problem, Tim. And thanks for not sleeping all for this stupid case,” Steph joked.

Tim snorted. “I’m going to sleep. Goodnight,” he said.

Steph hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Do you wanna sleep with me?” Her own statement made her surprised. Tim remained silent, but she could tell he was blushing. “I mean—do you wanna come to my room and just talk?” She stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth. “Not, like, have-“

“Why?” Tim questioned.

Steph paused, then shrugged unceremoniously. “I dunno. Just seemed nice,” she said casually.

Tim blinked, then turned to his partner. “O-okay,” he said nervously.

Steph blinked, then smiled widely. “Cool!” She dropped her costume on the bench, then began dragging Tim up the stairs to her guest bedroom in the manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANOTHER SMALL THING: Zay, my original character, is not over. She will come back in another way in Janus.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get into the (last!) chapter, I want to mention that this is not the prequel to Janus. I never planned for it to be. It’s just part of the same universe that I’ve made for myself and other readers, so some parts of this story are alluding to certain elements in Janus. Janus addresses those parts. You don’t need to read one in order to understand the other. 
> 
> Plus, I had to use a Romanian translator instead of a Romani translator, so I really apologize. I scoured the internet to find one, but I absolutely could not. 
> 
> There’s one S-word bomb in this chapter, also, and a very small mention of explicit activities. 
> 
> Also, I really hope you liked this story! Please leave a final comment if you can! I hope you have an amazing day!

By the time they got up into Steph’s ‘room’, they were absolutely exhausted. Both Tim and Steph took one look at the queen-sized bed, then collapsed into it. Steph bothered to actually pull the heavy blankets over her small form, but Tim immediately tumbled into sleep.

Steph snorted, then fell into her dreams.

* * *

There was a child with light blue eyes in her dreams. He was playing with another child with amber eyes—they were playing a hand game, Steph could tell...the familiar tune was bouncing around her head.

She could only see their eyes. Something so familiar about both of them. They were from people that have been or are in her life, but she couldn’t quite tell who those people were.

Suddenly, bright, almost _glowing_ green eyes entered the dark room which the children were in. They were low-hanging; it was from another child...perhaps a baby? The other children stopped their games, then looked at the baby. The brown-eyed child and baby babbled in a foreign language for a bit, then the three children all left the darkened room as a group.

Stephanie woke up with a short gasp.

_What the hell was that?_

She rubbed her eyes tiredly and looked to her right. _Where is Tim?_ Suddenly, Steph heard a toilet flush in her bathroom, and she let out a short breath. Tim entered the room a few seconds later, a worried look on his face.

She sucked in a deep breath. _Maybe_...

“What happened?” Tim questioned. He was obviously concerned, so she decided not to comment on his demanding tone.

“Nothin’,” she told him. “Just a weird dream.”

“Oh,” Tim nodded awkwardly. No doubt he had plenty of experience considering how much he’s been through.

“Yeah,” Steph breathed out. She stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, then decided to change the topic. “Um, what time is it?”

“Ten o’clock.”

Steph’s eyes widened dramatically. “My mom is going to kill me,” she muttered to herself and shoved the heavy blankets away from her.

“It fine!” Steph stopped her movements and raised her eyebrows. “I called her and said we had hung out pretty late. She...understood,” Tim told Steph.

Steph lifted her head, staring at Tim for a moment before saying, “What did she say?”

“Nothing much,” Tim said way too quickly for her liking.

“ _Tim_.” Steph’s voice raised, growing embarrassed.

“She just said to be safe!” Tim blurted.

“In what way?”

Tim’s blush was all his answer. Steph sighed frustratedly and she put her head in her hands. “I’m sorry about my mom. She can be _so_ overbearing sometimes.” Steph scoffed. “I swear to god.”

Tim’s blush, _somehow_ , turned even more severe. “It-it’s fine. Really,” he assured her. “She just doesn’t want another-“ Tim sucked in a deep breath before he could say anything else.

Steph stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth again. “What, Tim? What does she not want?” Steph challenged, obviously triggered.

Tim’s eyes snapped to her’s, then he said, “Steph-“ he stopped himself abruptly, then took a deep breath. “You know I didn’t mean to insult you...or anything.”

Steph didn’t say anything for a while, then huffed out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, sorry for being so defensive,” she apologized, then rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand. “It’s all good, _Timmy_ ,” Steph teased haphazardly.

Tim just rolled his eyes and took out his phone, beginning to type furiously on it. Steph rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna go pee, then get some food.” She said, “Alfred never disappoints.”

Tim just proceeded to ignore her and flop himself on the bed. He continued typing on his phone while Steph disappeared into the bathroom. About 25 minutes passed when Tim began to get concerned.

Tim knocked on the door hesitantly. “Steph? You okay?”

He then heard the shower turn off abruptly, then Steph burst open the bathroom door with red eyes and a towel wrapped around her body. “I’m fine, Boy Blunder!” Her tired, sad eyes contradicted her statement. Tim just stared at her uneasily. Steph finally, _truly,_ looked at him and noticed hisconcern _. “Really_! I’m good,”she repeated.

Tim suddenly grimaced. “Right. Sorry,” he said. He turned his back to her and began striding to the door. “I’m going to go to the kitchen.” Then he left.

Steph huffed, shivering in her white towel. _Why did that stupid dream affect me so much?_

She blinked a few times, trying again to clear her mind. Steph turned around and proceeded to brush her teeth, inwardly thanking Alfred for always thinking of everything.

After brushing for a couple of minutes, she then wiped her mouth with the towel draped around her body, and moved into the bedroom. Steph found a brush on the vanity in the bedroom and quickly brushed (more like pulled) her hair back from her face. She finally threw the towel into the hamper and looked inside the closet.

Steph was able to find a purple t-shirt and some light blue jeans. She made sure to cuff up the bottoms of the jeans. While doing that, her stomach suddenly grumbled, loudly. She hadn’t realized how hungry she really was until then.

“Shit,” she muttered to herself.

Steph walked back into the bathroom to put on some deodorant and mild perfume, then she walked back into the bedroom to stuff her feet into some socks and black Vans.

After that, the blonde woman wrenched her bedroom door open and rushed downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, Steph noticed Bruce, Dick, Damian, and Tim sitting down and eating breakfast.

Alfred had just finished putting pancakes on Tim’s plate when he looked up at her. No doubt the observant man had noticed her presence before she had even entered the kitchen. “Your favorite, Miss Stephanie, I presume?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Thanks so much, Alf.”

He just nodded back and went back to the depths of the kitchen.

Bruce was, of course, reading the newspaper and drinking a black coffee, barely touching his yogurt and fruit. Dick was happily downing his cereal and playfully nudging Damian, who was scowling while eating his pancakes and fruit. Although the scowl was becoming less and less sincere the more days that passed by.

Stephanie walked over to the stool right of Tim. The young man was looking straight forward while drinking his black coffee, a blank look on his face. Steph almost wanted to snap her fingers in front of his face, but she thought against it. He was probably deep in thought.

Cassandra, silently of course, suddenly emerged from deep within the kitchen with a plate of her waffles. Cass placed it in front of Steph with a small, proud smile. Steph could only guess she helped with cooking. “Thanks, Cass,” Steph said gratefully with a smile.

Cassie just nodded and retreated back into the kitchen. Steph began furiously cutting her waffles with the side of her fork and stuffed a piece in her mouth.

Dick stopped bugging Damian and instead went to bugging his other brother figure. “I heard you and Steph shared a room last night, Tim,” Dick insinuated.

Bruce raised a dark eyebrow behind his newspaper, but said nothing to that. Damian furrowed his brows, appearing confused. “I do not understand what you are insinuating, Grayson-“

“He’s saying we slept together,” Stephanie said all of this with a glare pointed at the acrobat. _Why had everyone just assumed we had slept together after we shared the same bed? We’re nothing more than friends...right?_

Damian wrinkled his nose in disgust when he finally processed what Stephanie said, but said nothing else himself.

Tim, despite sporting a decent red shade on his cheeks, rolled his eyes when Dick first teased them, and had snorted when Steph had cleared up Damian’s confusion.

“It’s really, none of your business,” Steph stated, her tone bored yet clear.

Tim clenched his jaw. He almost wanted to say aloud that nothing happened, but Steph was right. _It was none of their business._

Then Tim furrowed his brows. Why was he thinking this way? They weren’t some couple that needed their private time. No; they were simply friends and partners in the hero community. _Right?_

Dick held up both of his hands in a mock surrender, the milky spoon still in his right hand. “I know...sorry. Just brotherly teasing,” he said with a smile.

Steph looked back down at her food, then began eating again.

A few moments passed while Cass came out of the kitchen, carrying a small bowl of fruit for herself. Alfred soon followed without any food, but instead waited patiently for his family to finish eating.

A distinct ring (a starry, stringy one) suddenly echoed throughout the kitchen. Dick’s eyes lit up, then he reached into his back pocket. He pressed the answer button on his phone and put the device to his ear.

“Hey, Star-!” He said before being interrupted by the girl on the other side of the line. Dick loooked back at them for a moment with worried, cautious eyes, almost as if was caught doing something wrong.

Tim tilted his head curiously. So Kor’i and Dick were back together. Interesting.

Dick got up with a worried look plastered on his face. “Baby, what-what happened?” He asked her over the line.

Cass stopped eating her cantaloupe to start reading Dick’s body language. _A clenched jaw; hunched shoulders; lowered eyes. He’s completely focused on the safety of this person. He_ needs _to make sure this person is okay. He’s already feeling helpless. But why? Can’t Dick just visit his new girlfriend?_

A few moments passed where the other girl on the line was talking furiously, quickly in another language. “Dragă, a fost doar un vis (Honey, it was just a dream),” Dick reassured her in Romani. His voice was soft, yet low.

The girl began talking lowly again (in Romani, of course) and Dick nodded along, a smile beginning to form back on his face. “Sună ca un vis ciudat...(Sounds like a weird dream...)” He trailed off, not wanting to interrupt her anymore.

By that time, even Bruce had lowered his newspaper to look at Dick in this new light. The acrobat seemed to hold himself to a higher standard when talking to this girl on the phone. As time passed, it became blatantly obvious that Starfire wasn’t the girl he was on the phone with, and that sparked even Bruce’s curiosity.

Damian was obviously annoyed at no longer being the center of Dick’s attention, and instead scowled to himself and neglected his food childishly.

“Master Damian?” Alfred demanded the young boy’s attention. The green-eyed boy looked up, pouting. “Please eat the rest of your breakfast. I think Master Dick and Master Bruce would be upset if you began neglecting your food regularly,” Alfred commented with a tinkle in his eye.

Damian furrowed his brows, obviously in thought, then picked up his fork.

* * *

Breakfast ended quickly, although Dick had left the kitchen to talk with the girl on the call. Tim had silently excused himself up to his room to work on his report.

Stephanie talked for a few minutes with Cass and Alfred, while Bruce left for Wayne Enterprises. Damian stomped off into the main hallway to go to the grandfather clock.

“May I ask what your ‘weird’ dream was about, Miss Stephanie?” Alfred asked.

Steph furrowed her brows and tried to recall the dream, then figments of her memory began to appear. “Yeah. Um, there was two kids. One had blue eyes and the other had...” she looked down as she paused, then jumped when she remembered, “brown eyes!”

Alfred raised one gray brow, but Stephanie continued. “They were playing some game...or something.” Cass was confused, Steph could tell, so she decided to elaborate. “I think it was a hand game,” Steph stated.

“Can you recall how they looked otherwise?” Alfred inquired.

Steph shook her head. “I couldn’t tell it,” she said. She gesticulated wildly, then continued, “It was completely dark. I could only see their eyes.” She abruptly shut her mouth, thinking whether to say what to she wanted to or not. Ultimately, her big mouth won. “I could almost recognize them, though.”

Both Alfred and Cass looked taken aback (which was _not_ often), then leaned into her more. “Who?” Cass asked.

Stephanie shrugged. “I have no clue...but they looked familiar!”

Cass blinked once, then nodded. “Next?” She asked.

Steph’s lips upturned a bit. “These two eyes walked over, but they were, like, really, _really_ bright.”

Cass tilted her head, while Alfred said, “Oh?”

Steph nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! They were these _bright_ ,” she pointed to her own blue eyes, “green eyes. And I think whoever had them was, like, a baby,” Steph commented.

Cassandra’s back suddenly straightened. “Baby?”

“Yeah! Isn’t that weird!?” Steph said.

Alfred cleared his throat politely. “What happened next, Miss Stephanie?”

Steph blinked and furrowed her brows. “Oh!” She said aloud when the memory resurfaced. “Well, the baby and the person with the brown eyes talked.”

“What about?” Alfred inquired.

Stephanie shrugged, defeated. “I have no idea,” she told them. “It was another language...” she trailed off, not knowing how she could’ve dreamt in another language. One that she obviously didn’t know.

Cass asserted, “Not possible.”

Alfred nodded curtly along with Cass. “Yes. Miss Stephanie, Miss Cassandra is correct. It’s not possible to dream in another language that you are not fluent in, usually,” Alfred agreed with Cass.

Steph huffed. “But I _know_ I dreamt in an actual language that I’m not fluent in. I swear I’m not making any of this up!” She declared.

Cass nodded understandingly after a moment. “Not lying,” she informed them.

Alfred hummed. “Do you have any clue as to what this language was, Miss Stephanie?” He asked smoothly.

Stephanie stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth. She could almost remember them saying phrases such as, ‘mamá’ and ‘quiere’. Steph bit her lip, then it dawned on her. _Spanish_.

_I guess that year in ninth grade kinda helped. Huh._

“Spanish” she stated. “It was Spanish.”

Cass nodded slowly, as did Alfred. “Next?” Cass asked.

“They left,” Steph said simply. “All three of them.”

Alfred nodded once. “That was the end of the dream, I presume?” Steph nodded quickly. “That is quite odd. I understand why you are so shaken by it,” the old man sympathized with her. “However, I doubt it would do you any harm.”

“What dreams _do_ harm, Alf?” Stephanie challenged curiously, almost teasing the old man.

“Dreams can be very telling. And very harmful,” he restated. “Nightmares, for example, can be harmful to a person’s well-being,” Alfred informed the two women. “Some dreams, I believe, can tell one’s future and past.”

Steph blinked, then nodded slowly. She would never take Alfred for a spiritual man, but if he had to put up with Bruce she supposed it was necessary.

She stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth, then got up from her stool. “Cool. I never thought of it that way...” she paused, then changed the conversation. “I should go help Tim with the report,” she said. “Thanks for listening to me,” Steph smiled gratefully at the two people across from her.

Alfred smiled and nodded lowly, while Cass just smiled. Steph left to go upstairs to Tim’s room.

She’d only been in there a handful of times, all times it being a pigsty. She didn’t know how Alfred put up with it. Or maybe the old man _didn’t_ put up with it.

Steph knocked a couple of times, then heard a small grunt. She rolled her eyes ( _So much like Bruce_ ), then opened the door. _Okay. Not as bad as it was a few weeks ago. I can see the floor._

Tim was sitting at his desk, typing on his laptop (presumably writing his report). Steph left the door behind her ajar, then said, “Hey.”

Tim then broke his attention to look at her. “Hey,” he said back. The young man went back to typing on his laptop.

“Just wanted to see if you needed help on the report,” she said friendily.

This time he didn’t look up from the computer. “I’m okay. It’s okay. I should have it done in 20 minutes tops,” he stated blankly.

Steph frowned and moved over to the desk. Sure enough, he was doing the patrol report along with a school report. _That’s Tim, for sure. Multi-tasking at it’s finest_. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help?” She repeated.

Tim just furrowed his brows.

_This_ is what he was concerned about this morning. He woke up late because they had patrolled until about four in the morning, then regretted it since he lost time to work on his reports. _Such a workaholic_.

“Tim,” Steph said earnestly. He didn’t stop typing. “Tim!”

He finally stopped and looked at her. His jaw was clenched and lips red from, assumedly, biting them. “What.”

Stephanie blinked quickly. Then did what her gut told her to.

She leaned down and cupped his face, roughly pressing her lips to his. Steph felt him stiffen, but he relaxed after a couple of seconds.

She felt his hands cover her own—gentle yet calloused.

Tim deepened the kiss, pressing his lips to her’s harder and making her sigh sweetly. Steph continuously rubbed her right thumb on his cheek softly, feeling the heat form beneath it.

Tim was the one to pull back; eyes dilated, lips redder, and cheeks pink. Steph smiled and bit her red lip cutely.

A full minute passed when the two teens looked at one another, trying to read each other. “I just...wanted to make sure you weren’t overworking,” Steph interrupted the silence, almost dreamily,” like always.”

Tim smiled to himself. “No-no I’m really fine,” Tim reassured her, breaking his stare. “I just...” he trailed off, not knowing how to articulate himself.

“Get caught up in all of it?” Stephanie supplied.

Tim nodded and looked back to her. “Yeah,” he said shortly.

Another moment lingered between them, both of them not quite knowing what to say. Steph was the first to speak up. “Do you wanna go out?” She asked Tim. Tim opened his mouth, a light blush back on his face, but Steph interrupted him clumsily. “Like, um, a date?” She stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth. “‘Though that was kinda...implied...” she finished awkwardly.

Tim pursed his lips, whether that to stifle a laugh or hide his own embarrassment, Steph couldn’t tell. Tim sucked in a breath, then answered.

“Yeah,” he replied. “For sure.”

And they both smiled like the rising sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I would like to thank @ibmiller on tumblr for this idea. They were such an amazing help and were so incredibly patient with my slow ass. Please leave a comment and subscribe if you can! I love you all and hope you have an amazing day!


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